By Karen Nickel
Dialog contributor

Faculty represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council (CEC) negotiated for three months to reach an agreement on a contract that covers the 2012 – 2014 school period.

A strike vote by the union was set for Sept. 10, then the CEC’s called for a ‘No Board’ report which would have allowed the colleges to lock out faculty or impose the terms of a new contract. This was met with some puzzlement and anger, especially from OPSEU President, Warren (Smokey) Thomas, whose media release stated, “We don’t believe they had any intention of reaching a reasonable agreement with faculty before the start of the school year. It is clear from their timing that they planned to file a No Board all along.”

Some key disputed issues were: opportunity for advancement; recognition and support for part-time partial-load faculty; and dropping the category ‘facilitators’— referring to temporary positions which paid less and had longer hours. With colleges providing more online classes, there was concern about what role, hours and pay these facilitators should expect.

Of scholarly concern was the issue of academic freedom, ensuring that professors decide the method of delivery for courses and how they are evaluated. This is something management did not want to give up.  Salary, the union claims, was never an issue.

Management’s focus was fiscal responsibility, as outlined by the provincial government, while addressing current technological, economic and labour market realities. There were no discussions of salary increases in the Liberal’s framework either.

On Aug. 29 students received good news. OPSEU and the CEC struck a tentative deal. Management had withdrawn the ‘facilitator’ catagory and proposals placed no concessions on the union. This deal, if ratified on Sept. 10, will put part-time faculty one step closer to acquiring some job security.