Brock University continues to work towards a new collective agreement with Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4207, Unit 3 (CUPE 4207-3), which represents ESL instructors at Brock.

The parties have met on six occasions and made good progress on a number of items. On Aug. 31 the Union filed for conciliation, which is a normal part of the collective bargaining process in Ontario. A union or employer may apply to the Ontario Ministry of Labour for help in reaching an agreement, and the Ministry will appoint a conciliation officer to meet with the parties.

The parties met in conciliation on Oct. 28 and 29 but were unable to reach agreement on the outstanding items. On Oct. 30 the University was advised that the Union had asked the provincial conciliator to request a no-board report from the Ministry of Labour. Once a no-board report is issued, the parties have 16 days within which to reach a new agreement, after which they would be in a legal strike or lockout position.