FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
Nov. 7, 2017
TORONTO – College Student Alliance urges the College Employer Council (CEC) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) to agree to end the ongoing faculty strike through binding arbitration as students are coming dangerously close to losing their academic semester.
Students have already lost nearly four weeks of class time. OPSEU and CEC cannot waste an additional 10 days of learning by waiting for a forced faculty vote. By agreeing to binding arbitration, OPSEU and CEC can reach a settlement quickly and prove students are their priority.
“Students are stuck on the sidelines; we are not part of the negotiating process, or in the classroom,” said CSA president Joel Willett. “Binding arbitration is the obvious next step if CEC and OPSEU are serious about reaching an agreement quickly.”
Negotiations have failed since July and students have lost patience. As both sides continue to squabble, the time, effort, and money students have invested in their education are close to being permanently lost. Binding arbitration will force OPSEU and CEC to work with a neutral mediator in order to find a resolution before it is too late.
“The longer faculty strike, the more students suffer,” said Willett. “We urge the negotiating parties to remember students are at college to learn, not to be used as pawns. Agreeing to binding arbitration is the only reasonable next step.”
If CEC and OPSEU agree to binding arbitration, students could be back in the classroom by the end of this week.
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About College Student Alliance:
College Student Alliance (CSA) advocates on behalf of Ontario college students in partnership with student leaders. Through our member student associations, CSA represents the collective voice of Ontario's college students.
For more information, please contact:
Joel Willett President, College Student Alliance
president@collegestudentalliance.ca | C: 705-957-2734
Emmaline Scharbach Communications Manager, College Student Alliance communications@collegestudentalliance.ca | T: 416-340-1212 | C: 647-454-9951
