Five-Week College Strike finally over

Minister of Advanced Education Deb Matthews announced Sunday that Ontario’s college faculty will be back to work tomorrow and over 500,000 students back in class on Tuesday. Bill-178 was passed putting an end to the five-week-old strike by instructors.

Now that it is over, some students are worried that the quality of their education will be effected.

The strike has come to an end but the Minister of Advanced Education says their work is far from over.

Its an opinion Mohawk mechanical engineering student Jeff Winegarden agrees with, who got a notification that he would have a midterm on his third day back to class after the strike.

A midterm which would include material he says he hasn’t even been taught yet.

The bill passed in the third reading today, now the union and the colleges will have a third party, neutral mediator arbitrator to help reach a deal. Faculty will head back to the classroom tomorrow, under the same terms and conditions as they did before the strike.

Winegarden, like many students, is worried that the rest of the semester will be crammed, and he wont have the same learning experience, because of this, he would prefer that the semester be cancelled.

The Liberals did not have a clear answer to whether students will have the choice to drop out with a full refund.

Mohawk College representatives say the quality of a students education will not be compromised in any way because of this strike.

The college is looking into adding additional classes, and setting up peer groups and supports.

As for the money, the colleges saved by not having to pay faculty for 5 weeks. The government says it will be distributed amongst the most financially burdened students.

Deb Matthews says that plan to distribute the money saved will be formulated very soon. The Liberals blame the NDP for not passing the bill sooner, and the NDP blame the Liberals for not dealing with college faculty labour issues before a strike occurred.

Mohawk, Sheridan, and Niagara Colleges will have classes resuming on Tuesday.