Today marks week three of the Ontario college strike that affects over 12,000 professors/teachers and roughly 300,000 students across Ontario. So far, no talks have been scheduled. To make matters worse, the uncertainty because of a lack of information only contributes to the stress many students are already feeling.
Some colleges like St. Clair college in Windsor are already working on contingency plans to extend the semester if the strike continues past week three and four, reports the Windsor Star.
These plans include extending this current semester up until the 20th of December (the current schedule outlines the semester ending early in the second week of December). They also include the option of holding exams on weekends.
The previous three college strikes all lasted an average of about three weeks and lost class time was made up for by extending the winter semester into May and cancelling reading week.
The Ontario Public Services Employee Union (OPSEU) report key issues such as a desire to maintain a 50/50 ratio with part-time/full-time teachers (the current ratio is roughly 70/30). They also demand a 12% salary increase over the next three years, the council counter-offered with a 7.5% increase over the next four years but the OPSEU refuse to budge.
The council negotiating with the OPSEU claims the OPSEU’s demands will cost upwards of $250 million annually.
On the bright side, once a negotiation is reached, it will not take long for regular academic operations to resume, approximately a few days.
However, this is assuming the strike won’t last over a month, if it does, then even more strenuous contingency plans will be negotiated to make sure students do not lose any more valuable time.
