19 Full-time faculty at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa have set a Jan. 31 strike deadline. The University of Ontario Institute of Technology Faculty Association (UOIT-FA), which represents 280 faculty at the school, has raised concerns around faculty workload, class sizes, student-to-faculty ratios, education quality and job security. "The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and intensified many challenges that faculty and students face at Ontario Tech. In its wake, it's vital that we improve working conditions for faculty and learning conditions for students," said union spokes-person Kimberly Nugent. "We don't want to strike, but if that's what it takes to get the university to take action on these important issues, we are ready." UOITFA says a request for a no board report from the Ministry of Labour, Training, Skills and Development has been accepted and filed. "The university is disappointed by this latest approach deployed by the faculty association bargaining team, which comes on the heels of productive exchanges facilitated by a private mediator during multiple sessions immediately prior to the holiday break," states a bargaining update from the university. "It is imperative that academic programming continue uninterrupted, but it is has become apparent that several current demands tabled by the faculty association bargaining team simply cannot be met." The Ontario Tech statement says the university is committed to "negotiating in good faith toward a fair and reasonable collective agreement." The Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa. Faculty at the school have set a Jan. 31 strike deadline. Ontario Tech University photo ONTARIO TECH FULL-TIME FACULTY SET JAN. 31 STRIKE DEADLINE NEWS