A provincial mediator has been appointed to try to head off a strike by teachers at Loyalist and Ontario’s 23 other community colleges.
The union has set a strike date of February 11th, but Premier McGuinty is asking both sides to sit down and reach a negotiated settlement. A strike would effect classes for at least 200-thousand full-time students.
Ted Montgomery of the OP-SEU bargaining team says they are prepared to find alternatives that can keep the students in classes.
The union rejected a “final” offer from the colleges last week and refused to take it directly to teachers for a vote.