The Ottawa Citizen reports that the chair of OPSEU’s college faculty division is vowing to fight hard for the rights of precariously employed college profs, especially in light of the Ford government’s plan to legislate wage cuts across the public sector.
“We are going to be in for a big fight,” said RM Kennedy, OPSEU’s College Faculty Executive Chair.
Kennedy told the Citizen that precarious employment was the “No. 1 issue” behind the 2017 college faculty strike, noting that roughly 75 per cent of college faculty are stuck in part-time and short-term contracts.
Kennedy said he’s concerned that the government will use the legislated wage cuts as an excuse to further cut college funding.
“The government gives a grant to the colleges,” said Kennedy. “So if they put wage caps on, how is that saving the government money, unless they are intending to reduce the operating grant?”