Peterborough Transit routes to Fleming College have returned to normal after a strike at Ontario’s colleges was averted at the last minute on Thursday night (March 17).
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) — representing 16,000 full-time and partial-load professors, instructors, librarians, and counsellors — had been poised to strike at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
Since last July, the faculty union has been negotiating a new collective agreement with the College Employer Council (CEC), which represents Ontario’s 24 public colleges. On Monday, the union give notice that it would begin a full walk-out strike on Friday.
OPSEU and the CEC returned to the bargaining table for last-minute negotiations on Thursday and agreed to enter binding interest arbitration — a mechanism used to resolve disputes in the collective bargaining process where disputing parties agree in advance to accept the terms of a deal as decided by a neutral third party.
The agreement means there will be no strike, and all work-to-rule strike activities will also cease. A strike would have affected around 250,000 Ontario college students, including 16,000 students at Fleming College’s Peterborough, Lindsay, and Haliburton campuses.
On Thursday, Peterborough Transit had announced plans to reroute all buses away from Fleming College and take several bus stops out of service in the event of a strike. On Friday morning, Peterborough Transit announced all routes have returned to normal.
Original story:
With faculty members at Ontario’s public colleges poised to go on strike on Friday (March 18), Peterborough Transit will be rerouting buses away from Fleming College’s Sutherland Campus.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) — representing 16,000 full-time and partial-load professors, instructors, librarians, and counsellors — and the College Employer Council — representing Ontario’s 24 public colleges — have been negotiating a new collective agreement since last July. The faculty union has twice rejected the College Employer Council’s offer, and the union give notice on March 14 that it would begin a full walk-out strike at 12:01 a.m. on Friday.
OPSEU and the College Employer Council returned to the bargaining table for last-minute negotiations on Thursday, with management urging the union to call off the strike and to continue meeting on Friday and through the weekend if necessary. A strike means that all programs, classes, and placements will end, affecting around 250,000 Ontario college students — including 16,000 students at Fleming College’s Peterborough, Lindsay, and Haliburton campuses.
If no agreement is reached on Thursday, Peterborough Transit will not operate on the Fleming College Sutherland campus. At 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, all routes that normally serve Fleming College directly will be temporarily detoured to start and end at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre (775 Brealey Drive) for the duration of the strike.
Peterborough Transit says passengers travelling on The Parkway Route 5, Sherbrooke Route 6, Lansdowne Route 7, Monaghan Route 8, and Parkhill Route 9 trips may experience delays due to the impact of the required changes.
Here are the other changes Peterborough Transit has announced:
- The main Fleming College bus stop and the bus stops on Fleming College Way at Brealey Drive will be out of service.
- All Fleming College routes will drop off Fleming College riders at the northbound bus stop on Brealey Drive just north of Stenson Boulevard.
- A new temporary bus stop on southbound Brealey Drive just north of Fleming College Way will serve as the pick-up location for The Parkway Route 5 and Monaghan Route 8 trips.
- The existing northbound bus stop on Brealey Drive, just north of Stenson Boulevard will serve as the pick-up locations for Sherbrooke Route 6 and Lansdowne Route 7 trips. This is the same stop as the drop-off location.
- A new temporary bus stop on eastbound Stenson Boulevard, adjacent to the plaza will serve as the pick-up location for Parkhill Route 9 trips.
- Lansdowne Route 7 service will detour via Brealey Drive to the bus stop at Brealey Drive and Stenson Boulevard and to the Wellness Centre.
In addition, the following bus stops will be out of service during the strike:
- Westbound Lansdowne Street at Brealey Drive to Fleming College (buses will serve the southbound bus stop on Brealey Drive, south of Lansdowne Street).
- Southbound Dobbin Road at Lansdowne Street to Fleming College (buses will serve the southbound bus stop on Brealey Drive, south of Lansdowne Street).
- Northbound Dobbin Road at Lansdowne Street to Trent University or Willowcreek Plaza (riders should use eastbound bus stop on Lansdowne Street, east of Brealey Drive).
