On the second day of the Ontario wide college strike about 12,000 workers ramained on the picket lines at 24 post-secondary institutions.
In Northern Ontario, this includes Canadore College (North Bay), Cambrian College (Sudbury), Collège Boréal (Sudbury), Confederation College (Thunder Bay), Northern College (Timmins) and Sault College (Sault Ste. Marie).
A petition, started by two Humber college students, is being ciruclated. It calls for a tuition rebate for cancelled classes.
The petition calls for students to be reimbursed a portion of their tuition for every day missed. The amount suggested is $30 a day for full-time students and $20 a day for part-time students.
The issue of the strike came up at Queen’s Park on Tuesday mornin; with Premier Wynne weighing in.
“It’s always an uncomfortable position for everyone and a very, very distressing situation when people are not able to go to their classes. I know that the instructors and the teachers who are out, don’t want to be out. They want to be in their classrooms with their students. We’ll do everything we can to get everyone back,” said Wynne.
The last contract offer turned down by the teachers union was 7.75 per cent in wage increases over four years.
The union also wants the full-time part-time teacher ratio to be at 50 per cent. Right now, 70 per cent of the teachers are on part-time status.
