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THUNDER BAY — The president of the student union at Confederation College feels the last thing students need after two years of the pandemic is to have their learning disrupted by a labour dispute.
But in just two days, the 3,000 students represented by Ronnie Kasana will likely see their teachers walking the picket line.
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union are set to begin a full withdrawal of services at all 24 community colleges across the province the morning of March 18.
Kasana says a strike is clearly not in the interest of students.
"The students' desire is to ask both the parties to reach a common agreement. There's always more than one way to get a resolution," he said in an interview.
Kasana added "We were hoping both parties involved in the bargaining process since the last interest arbitration to act in good faith and to find a resolution to this as fast as possible and try to avoid this strike."
He said students have already had to deal with multiple issues related to COVID-19's impact on their education.
College professors, instructors, librarians and counsellors have been working to rule since December.
In 2017 – the last time they went on strike – they were off for five weeks before the province passed back-to-work legislation.
Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop says "students can't afford a strike at this time."
Answering questions from reporters on Tuesday the minister said "They're finally back in the classroom. That's where they need to be. That's where their best education is, where they're collaborating with their colleagues and their faculty."
Twenty student associations from across Ontario released an open letter Wednesday afternoon addressed to the ministry, OPSEU and the College Employers Council.
It urged the union and the colleges to resume bargaining immediately.
Failing that, it requested the ministry to intervene to end the impasse.
"Without immediate action, the remainder of this unprecedented year will leave students with a bitter experience," said Ricardo Souza, president of the Fanshawe Student Union in London.
Souza said the collective bargaining process is stalled, "and requires extraordinary measures. We ask that the Ontario government not allow students' learning to be further disrupted."
NOTE: This story has been updated to included information contained in a statement issued Wednesday afternoon by 20 student associations
