Conestoga College prepares for strike action

If a faculty strike arrives Monday, Conestoga College plans to suspend all classes.

Exams, tests and assignments will be postponed until after a potential strike is resolved, Conestoga posted on its website on Thursday.

Scheduled co-op and field placements will continue, the update said.

Continuing education and corporate training activities are also expected to continue in the event of a strike.

Campuses will remain open, and students will continue to have access to college facilities and services during usual operating hours.

Conestoga has nearly 14,000 full-time students on campuses in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, Brantford, Guelph and Ingersoll.

About 12,000 unionized faculty at 24 public colleges in Ontario are poised to strike on Monday to back contract demands.

Talks with the colleges broke down this week.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union members have been without a contract since Sept. 30.

“While we continue to hope that this situation can be resolved without disruption to the academic year, it now appears that a strike is likely,” an update statement posted to Conestoga’s website read on Thursday.

Conestoga is posting updates on the situation at www.conestogac.on.ca.