Ontario colleges seek arbitration as support staff move toward strike

The bargaining agent for Ontario’s publicly funded colleges says it is proposing binding mediation-arbitration after a union representing thousands of full-time support staff took a step toward a possible strike.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union has asked the Labour Ministry for a “no board” report, which would recognize that the parties are at an impasse and a conciliator would not be able to help.

The College Employer Council says the union’s move sets a legal strike date as early as Sept. 11.

Earlier this month, union members voted 77.3 per cent in favour of authorizing a strike, if necessary.

The employer council has said the union’s demands would expose colleges to more than $900 million in additional costs.

The union has proposed a moratorium on campus closures and preventing further layoffs, as the sector has seen closures and what the union describes as thousands of job losses due to a funding crisis.