After 10 days of striking in record-cold temperatures, the union representing Carleton’s safety staff will meet with the university March 20 to resume bargaining.
“We always hope every day that this will be the last day out. That aside, we’re making sure we’re ready to keep going if they’re not willing to bargain,” OPSEU 404 president Devon Reeves said.
The union will meet with Carleton March 20-21 to discuss contracts alongside a provincial mediation officer. The strike will continue until a final deal is reached, according to OPSEU negotiator Nelson Laguna.
“At this point, the employer is probably spending more money on fighting the union than they are resolving the issue. I don’t know if it’s just a pride issue at this point, but the workers are determined,” he said.
Beyond the picket line, the strike has caused disruptions across campus.
Behaviour on the picket line
Carleton’s website has a section on their strike page about what to do if threatening beahviour is encountered on the picket line.
Camille Baello, a Carleton alumni who now works on campus, said she was told by a picketer that her likelihood of being sexually assaulted had increased due to the lack of safety personnel on campus.
She said the comment was threatening and it went too far.
“They have the right to be frustrated and angry, but they shouldn’t project it and say those certain things to students,” she said. “It was insensitive. It was crude and unprofessional to be coming from two people who work on campus as security guards.”
Safety concerns
Concerns have been raised by Reeves and OPSEU that the private security guards hired to fill in for the striking workers are not sufficiently trained to do their job and, as a result, campus may be unsafe.
Internet and phone lines went down across campus March 15 due to a network failure, including the emergency contact phone line. Carleton safety tweeted the back-up analog phone number, but no email alerts were sent out by the university.
That’s not in keeping with dispatcher protocol, Reeves said.
“The emergency line goes down and the only thing you do to notify the public is send out a Twitter message which only 1,000 people get, then that’s a huge risk,” he said.
In another incident, Mallory Wright, a first-year student living in residence, called the campus’ emergency telephone line after her roommate collapsed.
She was met with an answering machine and had to run to another residence to get help, according to an interview with the Ottawa Citizen.
Reeves said the incident would not have occurred if the university was taking the union’s concerns seriously and hiring more staff.
“What happened the other day was either neglect of duty by the scab workers they’ve brought in, or it’s proof that the staffing isn’t adequate in this place,” he said.
Don Cumming, Carleton communications director, said the automated system instructs users to stay on the line in cases where two calls are coming through.
“The recording tells the person not to hang up and the call will be answered. This is the same system 911 uses,” he said via email.
Refusal to cross the picket line
Former Ontario premier Bob Rae was scheduled to receive an honorary degree from Carleton on March 14 but postponed the ceremony after being requested to do so by four of Carleton’s unions, according to a Carleton University Academic Staff Association press release.
NDP MP for Ottawa Centre Paul Dewar has also refused to cross the picket line and cancelled a meeting on campus, according to Laguna.
OC Transpo buses have not been driving on to campus during the strike as an act of solidarity. Instead, buses running during the day have been dropping students off along Bronson outside the university, causing long line-ups and crowding on the sidewalk outside athletics.
The O-Train and Para Transpo have continued normal service.
Carleton media relations officer Steven Reid said the university is hopeful an agreement can be reached over March 20-21, but could not comment on specifics.
Laguna said OPSEU’s main concern is with the number of full-time security staff present on campus, and their wages.
The staff of 50, which includes special constables, dispatchers, and student safety patrollers, has been on strike since March 10.
Reporter Chris O’Gorman speaks to picketers and union representatives about the strike.
