Answers for students
About the strike by college
faculty
1. Why are
college faculty on strike?
Students get the best education
when faculty have time to give them the feedback they need. College
faculty are bargaining to get more faculty, smaller class sizes, and
more faculty time, attention, and feedback for each and every
individual student. The number one issue in this round of contract
talks between faculty and the colleges is education quality. A
strike appears to be the only way to convince the colleges to make
quality education their top priority.
2. Why can’t you reach a settlement
without a strike?
Faculty and management have been
negotiating for over a year. Management is still demanding
concessions that would hurt education quality. We have been clear in
telling management that we will not do anything that compromises
quality. That’s why we are on strike.
3. What is the Ontario government’s
position on this issue?
In May 2005,
when he announced $6.2 billion in new funding for post-secondary
education, Premier Dalton McGuinty made it clear that he was very
concerned about education quality. He named “more faculty” and “more
faculty time for students” as the first two ingredients in his
recipe for improving education quality.
4. Isn’t this
whole thing really just about wages?
No. The two sides are not very
far apart on wages. Faculty and the colleges have reached a
settlement without a work stoppage in every round of bargaining
since 1989. What is different about this round is that a) we have a
government in power that says it supports education quality and is
willing to pay for improvements, and b) faculty have decided to take
a stand before the situation deteriorates further.
5. What do the
major student organizations or student councils think?
Many OPSEU locals have been in
communication with their student governments. We are in contact with
the provincial body, the College Student Alliance, to keep them
informed. The CSA web site is at
www.collegestrike.com .
6. Will I lose
my school year?
There have been faculty work
stoppages in 1984 and 1989. No student lost his or her school year
in either case.
The provincial government will
have to act quickly to prevent loss of the school year. Students
should not withdraw from their programs or quit school.
7. How will
students complete their school year?
Nobody knows for sure.
Management at each college is responsible for deciding how
operations will resume after a strike. They might extend the term,
for example.
8. If there is
a strike, do classes, field placements, and clinicals, etc.,
continue?
Without full-time teachers, any
attempt to continue “classes as normal” would be futile. Each
college will decide how it will proceed.
9. Can students talk to their teachers
during a strike?
You can talk to your teacher any
time – but not about classes or curriculum. Teachers are forbidden
by law from working at the college during a strike, and the college
is forbidden by law from paying teachers during a strike. This
restriction also applies to electronic communication including but
not limited to e-mail or chat rooms.
10. What can students do to help bring
the strike to a conclusion?
Students should contact Premier
Dalton McGuinty and tell him that they support a settlement that
provides more faculty – and more faculty time – for each and every
individual student. E-mail him at
Dalton.McGuinty@premier.gov.on.ca .
