March 7, 2006
McGuinty must get involved
to end strike
Premier Dalton
McGuinty must get involved to direct the colleges to settle the
strike, OPSEU faculty bargaining team chair Ted Montgomery told a
Toronto news conference today.
“There should and
could have been a settlement without a strike. But the colleges were
intent on pursuing an agenda of confrontation,” said Montgomery. “We
have never seen stonewalling like this before. The province needs to
step in and see that their investment is properly spent.”
The McGuinty
government has provided funding -- $6.2 billion over five years, he
noted. “The premier said some of this must be spent on new faculty and
for more time for faculty with their students. That is exactly what we
are asking for.”
Montgomery, of Seneca
College, was flanked at the news conference by OPSEU First
Vice-President/Treasurer Smokey Thomas, negotiator Lester Yearwood and
two members of the bargaining team, Sandi Webster of St.Clair College
and Jeff Arbus of Sault College.
Thomas pledged the
full support of OPSEU for the faculty strike. He said the colleges
have long suffered from bad management. “I’d have the government look
into the entire college system, not just this dispute,” Thomas said.
Bad faith bargaining?
The union has sought
legal advice on whether management violated the Labour Relations Act
by reversing its position on class size at the 11th hour of
negotiations. “They actually proposed to remove the existing cap on
the number of classes that a teacher can be assigned in a term,”
Montgomery said.
“It’s bad faith
bargaining to table a position that you removed previously,”
Montgomery said.
Students: Don’t give up
hope
Montgomery advised
students to help make sure the faculty strike would be short one.
“We encourage students to call upon the McGuinty government to act
now, to ensure that the Rae report is put into effect so that the
investment in education is not squandered.”
“Students should not
give up hope and drop out of college. We will make up for lost class
time after the strike – that has been the history in these types of
disputes.”
Students and strikers
alike can e-mail McGuinty at
Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca .
