As Ottawa college students gear up for class on Monday, they have an extra headache to contend with on top of exams and assignments: a possible strike by their professors.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union represents about 9,000 faculty, counsellors and librarians, including staff at Ottawa's Algonquin College, La Cite Collegiale, Loyalist College and St. Lawrence College in Kingston.
There's a strike vote set for Wednesday, and no talks have been scheduled between the union and Colleges Ontario, which encompasses 24 community colleges across the province, since December. Pay and workload are said to be the bargaining issues.
A strike would not only affect students in the school, but also laid-off workers looking to upgrade their education in hopes of getting a better job. It's a problem that greatly concerns the College Student Alliance, the organization that represents students in the province.
"They lost their job, they're trying to support their family, they have to apply for government assistance, build up the courage to go back to school, start classes and all of a sudden you're no longer in class because of a strike," the alliance's Tyler Charlebois told The Canadian Press.
The union's last strike in 2006 shut down campuses for 21 days. Around 200,000 students would be affected by a strike this time around.
With files from The Canadian Press
