March 22, 2006
UPDATED:
Union calls for binding arbitration; employer offers “final offer
selection”
Remarks by Ted Montgomery
The OPSEU college faculty bargaining team has called on
management to agree to voluntary binding arbitration after contract
talks failed to approach a settlement today.
“Three days of talks since the strike began have
produced no progress that would lead to a settlement,” team chair
Ted Montgomery told a packed news conference in Toronto this
afternoon. “It is now abundantly clear to us that no negotiated
settlement is possible with the current management bargaining team
in place.
“We have been clear and concise about what we need to
have in order to improve education quality, but management won’t
address quality issues,” Montgomery said. “For faculty, no
settlement is possible that does not address quality.”
College management countered the union’s proposal with
one of its own. In an unusual move, the colleges said they would agree to arbitration by “final offer selection.”
Final offer selection is rarely used. The two sides each
draw up their own final offer and the arbitrator chooses one or the
other. Normally in arbitration the arbitrator tries to strike a
balance between the two.
The union bargaining team is considering the proposal
tonight. The two sides remain in contact.
Any further delays in settling the strike will mean
students seriously risk losing their semester, Montgomery said.
“There is not the faintest hope that the colleges’
‘Semester Completion Strategies’ will actually save the semester,”
Montgomery said. “Without faculty to deliver courses, assign tests,
and evaluate students, any credits students might receive would not
be worth the paper they are printed on.”
When asked about the
strategies, Rick Miner, president of Seneca College and chief
spokesperson for all 24 college presidents, told the National
Post last week that
“what we’re really trying to do here is buy time.”
“The colleges have bought
enough time at our students’ expense,” said Montgomery. “Now it’s
time for a resolution, and it’s time to improve education quality.”
