Ontario Liberals to outlaw college teachers’ strike
By
Dylan Lubao
18 November 2017
In a blatantly anti-democratic step, the trade union-backed Liberal government of Premier Kathleen Wynne has tabled back-to-work legislation to end the strike of 12,000 Ontario community college faculty that began on October 16. Under the proposed legislation, all outstanding issues would be referred to binding arbitration, ensuring the workers’ demands will be jettisoned.
The formal introduction of the Liberals’ strikebreaking bill to the provincial parliament was temporarily blocked Thursday when the New Democratic Party refused unanimous consent. But the Liberals successfully introduced their bill Friday afternoon and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has pledged to order its striking members to obey it once it becomes law.
The government’s strikebreaking measure came in response to Thursday’s announcement that the striking workers had overwhelmingly rejected the “final offer” of the management of Ontario’s 24 provincially-administered colleges, represented by the College Employer Council (CEC). With a turnout rate of 95 percent, the strikers rejected the proposed contract by a margin of 86 percent, testifying both to the great militancy of the rank-and-file and the regressive character of the CEC’s “final offer.”
Strikers were forced to vote on the offer after the CEC bypassed OPSEU by utilizing a reactionary provision of the Ontario Labour Code. Both parties had earlier been called back to the bargaining table by the Ministry of Labour, and allegedly came close to reaching an agreement before talks broke down last weekend.
Those on strike include counsellors, librarians, and full-time and partial-load professors. The rank-and-file’s key demand…