Confederation College (File Photo)

College faculty, including those at Confederation College, will receive a larger wage increase than previously expected.

A mediated settlement between Ontario College Faculty and the College Employer Council will see faculty receive wage increases totalling 9-and-a-half per cent for the period starting in 2021 to 2024.

Previous negotiations allowed for annual increases of one per cent under Bill 124.

Discussions over wages were reopened after the court ruled the bill unconstitutional.

“This settlement is a necessary step forward for our 16,000 members following the unconstitutional constraints imposed by Bill 124, but it does not sufficiently address the erosion of our members’ wages as a result of inflation,” states Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, bargaining team Chair and professor at Niagara College in a statement. “We look forward to going back to the bargaining table again next year when our members can engage in free and fair bargaining without legislative constraints.”

The settlement covers 16,000 unionized full-time and partial-load faculty represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union who are employed at Ontario’s 24 public colleges.

College faculty will begin their next round of bargaining in less than one year.