An arbitrator appointed to work out a deal between Ontario’s 24 colleges and their faculty members — they were ordered back to work last month after staging the longest strike in their history — has given them a 7.75-per-cent pay hike over four years and a $900 return-to-work payout. The decision also included general references to the need for academic freedom.

Announced Wednesday morning, the arbitrator’s award on salary increases is what the College Employer Council had included in its final offer.

While the union had sought academic freedom for instructors to determine teachings and course content in consultation with management, the arbitrator defined this as “the right to enquire about, investigate, pursue, teach and speak freely about academic issues without fear of impairment to position or other reprisal,” which is consistent with what many colleges already have on the books.

The arbitrator also said each full-time faculty member will receive a $900-payout, while “partial-load” instructors will get $450. This puts an end to the thousands of grievances already launched over back-to-work issues.

“This payment is in full and final satisfaction of all claims, grievances or other complaints related to workload arising from return to work from the strike,” the decision states.

Mediation-arbitration was held between the colleges and Ontario Public Service Employees Union from Dec. 14 to 16.

Some 12,000 faculty, who are members of the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union, went on strike in October and remained on the picket lines for five weeks. Their main issues were precarious work — a task force will deal with the issue of growing part-time and contract work — and academic freedom.

A full-time professor would have lost up to $10,000 in salary during the strike.

Amid fears as many as 500,000 students were close to losing their semester, the government, in an unusual weekend sitting last month, passed back-to-work legislation.

Students were also given the option of withdrawing from school by Dec. 5, without academic penalty, and about 10 per cent of full-timers, or almost 26,000, have since dropped out. They received a full refund on their tuition fees.

In a typical year, college students must withdraw from their courses in the first two weeks of school to qualify for a refund. About 2.55 per cent usually do.

Ontario’s colleges said they “are very pleased with the arbitrator’s award, which is consistent with the colleges’ bargaining positions. The award enshrines the academic freedom policies that exist at most colleges while providing the same percentage salary increase that the colleges tabled before the strike started.”

Sonia Del Missier, chair of the colleges’ bargaining team, called it “a workable award that is in the best interests of all parties . . . . The strike has been a terrible experience for our students and everyone affected. We appreciate all the efforts being made by faculty and staff to recover from these events and continue the education and training of our students. We will be focused on rebuilding our positive working relationship with faculty that is in the best interests of the colleges, our students, and our communities.”