There's good news for faculty at Ontario colleges just before the new semester starts. College professors have a mediated settlement with the Ontario Employer Council to boost their pay stubs.
The settlement comes after Bill 124, which kept public servants' pay increases to one per cent annually, was declared unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court.
Faculty will see an increase of 3 per cent in the first year of the agreement, 3 per cent in the second, and 3.5 per cent in the third. That is on top of the one per cent awarded under the legislation.
The agreement covers 16,000 unionized full and part-time faculty members at Ontario's 24 public colleges.
"This settlement is a necessary step forward for our 16,000 members following the unconstitutional constraints imposed by Bill 124," said Bargaining Team Chair Ravi Ramkissoonsingh. "But it does not sufficiently address the erosion of our members' wages as a result of inflation. We look forward to going back to the bargaining table again next year when our members can engage in free and fair bargaining without legislative constraints."
College faculty begin their next round of bargaining in less than a year after a historic two-year process.
"Like many employers in Ontario, the Colleges reported record profits during the pandemic, while their employees' standard of living declined," added President of the Ontario Service Employees Union JP Hornick. "Faculty members showed their commitment to correcting a legislative injustice throughout this bargaining process. It is the same commitment that they showed to their students and communities by providing high-quality education throughout the pandemic."
Ontario colleges collectively reported a surplus of over $2-billion since 2017, including more than $650-million this year.
Four teachers' unions challenged the legislation last September. After the high court's decision in December, workers at the LCBO, the WSIB, and hospital workers have all mediated higher pay increases.
The Ford government is appealing the decision in the Ontario Court of Appeals.
