By RACHEL PRIVETT Staff Writer

Niagara College is still open and operating as normal – for now.The Ontario Labour Relations Board has ruled that faculty will have the opportunity to vote on the college’s final offer Feb. 10. 

The 24 Ontario colleges made a final offer Jan. 29 to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU). The offer provides a 5.9 per cent pay increase over three years without an increased workload.

OPSEU is seeking 7.5 per cent over three years. OPSEU has instructed faculty to vote no on the employer offer, which Niagara College President Dan Patterson says is a “reasonable offer.” If a vote on the offer can be arranged on or before Feb. 12, OPSEU is prepared to move the strike deadline so that members can vote and also to minimize disruption to the students.

OPSEU is prepared to postpone the Feb. 17 strike date to allow further negotiations if the proposed contract is rejected. Ontario colleges have rejected the idea of using binding arbitration to settle the matter before the strike date is reached. Sherri Rosen, Niagara College faculty union president, says in a press release to faculty,

“They didn’t even consult with their own student government leaders before tossing 200,000 students lives across Ontario into chaos. This is absolutely unconscionable – how dare they play Russian roulette with these students and their futures …”

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the 24 Ontario colleges have agreed upon a strike date of Feb. 17 . In the event that a strike is called, students will receive five days’ notice. “As of Jan. 19, provincial bargaining sessions have resumed, and we are hopeful a settlement can be reached without any interruptions to the academic term,” said Patterson.

After the Jan. 19 strike negotiations, OPSEU withdrew its demands for increased retiree life insurance premiums, that an employee who changes from employment at one college to a different college would lose the right to continue with the pension plan and amended the list of arbitrators, withdrawing some of the terms added when terms and conditions were imposed on Nov. 18, according to the OPSEU website.

Gord Hunchak, director of marketing and communications for Niagara College, says, “The goal of the colleges was to get back to negotiation table as soon as the strike mandate was announced [Jan. 13]. The colleges asked the union [OPSEU] to get back to the table and start negotiations and that started [Jan. 19].”

In the event that Ontario colleges do go on strike, the Student Administrative Council (SAC) along with other student associations across Ontario will be holding a rally at Queen’s Park. “If there is any sort of strike, [students] should be more involved and they should be coming to rally to put the pressure on both parties to get back to the table,” said Jacquelynn Perzul, president of SAC.