Ontario Tech University strike ended after a deal is reached

DAN CEARNS, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, for The Standard

DURHAM: The faculty strike at Ontario Tech University has come to an end.

On Sunday, February 20th, the UOIT Faculty Association (UOITFA) announced they had reached a tentative bargaining agreement with the University. Four days later, the UOITFA announced, via social media, the agreement had been ratified by their members.

“Thank you to our members, students, and community allies for the amazing shows of support throughout the two-week strike,” a UOITFA tweet read.

In a Facebook post, Ontario Tech University explained this agreement paves the way for things to return to normal at the University.

“Learning activities and normal operations will resume on Monday, February 28th. The University will proceed with all lectures, labs and tutorials and the plans previously in place for a gradual return to campus and for on-campus learning and activities,” the post stated. “The University’s tenured and tenure-track faculty, teaching faculty, and limited-term faculty members play an important part in delivering a great education to our students. We look forward to having increased on-campus activity as we proceed with our gradual return plans.”

As of press time, no information has been released by either side on what is included in the agreement. Neither a spokesperson for the University nor the faculty association has responded to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, a UOITFA spokesperson told The Standard the key issues in this round of negotiations included “pension, workload [and] standard course definition.”

#Durham #ontariotechuniversity