FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 22, 2005
College support staff
ratify contract
TORONTO - Support staff at
Ontario's 24 community colleges ratified a new collective
agreement today, averting a strike by more than 6,000
members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.
The workers voted 72 per cent
in favour of the three-year deal. Voter turnout was 73 per
cent. "Our message to management in this round of bargaining
was that support staff contribute as much to the success of
the colleges as faculty do," said Rod Bemister, chair of the
OPSEU bargaining team. "Thanks to the support of our
members, who gave us a strike mandate of 85 per cent,
management heard our message loud and clear."
Highlights of the deal
include:
* It's a three-year
agreement, expiring Aug. 31, 2008.
* A three per cent
staged wage increase in each of the three years.
Compounded, this represents a 9.4 per cent increase by
the end of the contract.
* A recognition allowance
of $400 per year for support staff with 10 years of
service or more, about half the bargaining unit. For the
average support worker this represents an additional
wage increase of one per cent. This bonus is a first for
support staff, a building block for future rounds of
bargaining and acknowledges the importance of their work
* A drug benefits card.
* Withdrawal of the wages
and benefits comparison letter.
* Improved time off for
union business.
Members of the support staff
group provide a wide range of services at the colleges,
including information technology, maintenance, technical,
early childhood education, and clerical support for student
loans, library, registrar's office, accounting and others.
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For more information:
Rod Bemister (416)
779-0669
