Ontario colleges quiet on strike contingency plans
Student anxiety grows as Feb. 11 strike deadline draws near
Brannan describes her campus as “sombre and tense,” explaining that it’s hard to concentrate in class.
A strike for Second Career students, like MacDonald, could mean a loss of funding should negotiations continue for some time. “Funding is set for a certain amount of time. Some who have paid fear losing their money. We just want to learn and move to the next step,” he says.
Students are also concerned about a “second York” happening. The bitter labour dispute halted classes for 45,000 students at the Toronto university for almost three months last year and the semester was extended into June. It is the longest-running strike at an English-speaking, Canadian university.
For Humber College student Graeme McNaughton, this is a big source of anxiety, but he’s choosing to remain optimistic. “With both sides seeming willing to avert a strike, whether it be the colleges putting a proposal to a vote, or the union willing to go to binding arbitration, I don’t believe that this will be a concern,” he says. “Then again, people’s minds do change.”
There are some students, like Cameron Switzer at Humber College’s Guelph campus, who are less concerned about an actual strike, and more concerned about what could come after. “I have a lot of friends who go to York, and the strike there really affected them. Some of them didn’t get the summer placements they wanted because they couldn’t guarantee a start date until it was too late,” he says.
And, there are students like Sandy Blakeley at Durham College who believe that a strike during such hard economic times is irresponsible. “It’s simple math: The nation as a whole lost money, but there are still individuals who try to push the system,” he says. “Most teachers like to say it’s not about money … but in the end, the students will be paying the price for inaction.”
“The general mood is that they will find common ground before it’s too late, and if a strike does happen, it won’t be severe enough to result in a lost semester,” Blakeley says. “But, after seeing the York strike, I guess anything is possible.”
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Solution? It’s really quite elementary.
The government has to step in and declare education an essential service. Let faculty have their unions, but take away the right to “solve” disputes by disruptive means.
I dnt knw why they are giving time to decide.they have rejected offer several times and still giving time to think nd decide .I think it’s not fair with students.students should oppose coz after all it’s our loss and no one will ruin their summer vacation goin to Clg insted of workin fulltime nd save money for next semister fees .it’s our loss .we could loose job nd our time is wasted we r used like prostitutes .guys wake up and take action
That’s all I gave to say
Thanks
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I too am a Second Career Student. I don’t imagine the government is going to pay for extended classes, or daycare fee’s past a certain date. I think if there is a strike we should be reimbursed for every day missed. Many of us have parking passes that are paid for too. The teachers want to be recognized for things they read and its not about money. Well let them be recognized in the summer. I did not sign up for this and neither did any other student. Do nurses stop working because they want more recognition? No, Well neither should nursing teachers!
P.S. Jody McDonald rocks