Ontario college faculty goes on strike after final offer rejected, classes cancelled.

More than 12,000 college employees will hit the picket lines on Monday after group representing college management rejected the union’s final offer.Classes have been cancelled for more than 500,000 students after faculty at 24 Ontario colleges went on strike late Sunday night.

OPSEU made 3 critical proposals in the offer: 50:50 ratio in the number of full-time faculty to the number of faculty members on contract; increased job security for part-time faculty, and academic freedom to give faculty a stronger voice in academic decision-making.

JP Hornick, the chair of the union bargaining team in a statement said, “We felt really disappointed. There is no reason that council shouldn’t be working to engage with these discussions with us."

Hornick said they presented the council with an offer that represented what faculty consider to be the bare minimum they need to ensure quality education for students and treat contract faculty fairly.

Students are advised to check their college’s website to find out how they are affected.

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