Ontario’s nine thousand community college teachers will vote on a so-called final contract offer on February 10th.
As a result, the union has moved its strike deadline.
The deadline had been February 11th, but union negotiator Ted Montgomery says it has been moved to the 17th to allow for more talks should the offer be voted down.
If the College faculty walk off the job, students at Georgian College in Owen Sound and Barrie and other colleges across the province won’t have any classes.
A total of 200 thousand full time students would be impacted by any strike.
OPSEU is urging college teachers to vote against a final offer issued by the colleges.
The move comes after the colleges proposed an open vote on the contract.
The union is asking that the Colleges let all the outstanding issues be sent to binding arbitration if a settlement cannot be reached.
But the colleges have rejected binding arbitration.
Montgomery tells Bayshore Broadcasting News, if that happens — a strike can be averted.
He says even the Premier has weighed in on this issue last week — saying both sides should get back to the bargaining table and resolve their issues so the students education is not compromised.