- At The Table, At The Rally

At The Table, At The Rally

Dear Colleagues,

They have been ordered back to the table tomorrow. The government that has been saying that they don’t want to interfere with the two sides in this labour bargaining standstill, has now interfered. Please do not let this tiny step dissuade you from showing up at the Queens Park march to the College Ministry rally tomorrow. Let’s be hopeful, but not gullible.

We are gathering downtown from 11:00 AM to noon, I hope in the thousands, to make our political cause known and felt. Buses leave all three Sheridan Campuses at 9:45, please get there for 9:30. If you have not signed up for a bus, there are a few extra spaces still available at Davis and HMC, and a dozen or so at the Trafalgar campus, which needed a second bus. But of course, more of us will be coming by train, car and by foot.

The government, Premier Kathleen Wynne, could always have ordered its Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD), Minister Deb Matthews, to order the College Employer Council (CEC) negotiators to go back to the table. Now they have, but have they told their agents to compromise? Is their “final” offer still their final offer? Our united determination will make the difference.

If you want to know what’s on the table, skim through the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Fiscal Sustainability of Ontario Colleges Report.** We are not sustainable in their projection if we stay on our current course to 2024-25. One way to be sustainable economically would be a reduction of 13.1% of staff size (see pages 34-36). That’s the CEC’s agenda so far, especially through the abuse of part-time workers coincident with full-time complement reductions. But the PwC report offers other ideas, and they are on our side of the table (see page 42). Here’s a snippet,
 
As noted above, colleges’ revenues have been increasing at a slower rate than inflation, which is not sustainable. The provincial government should consider increasing the level of funding provided to colleges and/or reforming the college funding formula to provide colleges with more stable funding and greater flexibility in light of the changing demographic picture.
 
What’s clear is that our current struggle is ‘political’. Hence the importance of a big turnout tomorrow at the Ontario Legislature, and of contacting your MPP (see first link on our website).

In solidarity, see you tomorrow,

Jack



Jack Urowitz,
President, OPSEU Local 244
Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
(905) 845-9430 Extension 2832
Union Office 4065