Tensions between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council (CEC) are escalating as the Sept. 11 strike deadline for 10,000 full-time college support staff draws near.
The union represents technicians, clerks, analysts, technologists, tutors and facilities operators across Ontario’s 24 public colleges.
OPSEU President JP Hornick, in a message to its members, said any member who decides not to cross the picket line of “unions' siblings” will be backed by full support from OPSEU.
Ontario public college academic faculty, along with full-time and part-time support staff, are all represented by various OPSEU bargaining units.
“We are prepared to take every action necessary to ensure that as college workers, we can all stand together,” Hornick said. “This includes mobilizing all available resources to fight for members who may be threatened with or face reprisal for refusing to cross a picket line.”
Humber, in an email to its staff this evening, issued a letter stating the expectations for its academic employees and the part-time support staff if a full-time support staff (FTSS) strike occurs.
“Your collective agreement and the Colleges' Collective Bargaining Act prohibit a strike or strike activity unless you are in a lawful position to strike, which you are not,” The letter stated. “The students we support will continue to require us to provide services, regardless of OPSEU’s decision to initiate an FTSS strike. You must still report to work as scheduled during a strike.”
In the latest round of bargaining, OPSEU has tabled provisions calling for a temporary freeze of campus closures, mergers and staffing reductions until the end of a new collective agreement.
The union argues these measures are necessary to preserve jobs and services.
“Our colleges aren’t just underfunded. They’re being systematically defunded, while funds are diverted to a privatized, training ecosystem,” the union said in a statement. “They’re coming for our campuses hollowed out by the slow bleed of services – whether it be our library techs being replaced by 'book vending machines' – or support staff teams cut entirely.”
The CEC has rejected the demands, calling them “poison pills” that stand in the way of settlement.
Graham Lloyd, the CEO of CEC, says no Ontario college can accept the union’s proposals and said the demands go beyond the scope of collective bargaining.
“OPSEU is ignoring the reality that college enrolment and revenues are down as much as 50 per cent,” Lloyd said. “No organization managing a drop like this can commit to these out-of-touch demands.”
The federal cap on international study permits triggered about 10,000 layoffs and forced the suspension of more than 600 programs across the sector last year.
The council has asked the union to move to arbitration, where an independent third party settles impasses and is legally binding to both parties. OPSEU has refused the arbitration request.
“Giving up our right to strike doesn’t protect student futures – ensuring there are staff left to support them through their studies does,” the union said.
The two sides remain at odds over several issues. The union has tabled for protections against contracting out and the use of artificial intelligence causing job displacement, and language to prevent managers from performing union work.
OPSEU says it was “alarmed” by CEC’s request for a letter of understanding, seeking a joint employer-union committee to examine “the financial sustainability of the Support Staff Benefits Plan.”
However, OPSEU demanded improvements to dental, vision and hearing coverage, as well as additional coverage for gender affirmation, family building and weight cessation.
The CEC has countered by raising hearing aid coverage to $3,250, up from the current $3,000 every three years. The CEC says it has also offered enhanced severance packages, 50 per cent higher for laid-off workers, and longer recall rights for those with less than two years of service.
However, the union argues it still has not been able to achieve job security from the ongoing talks.
“We’re ready to bargain a deal that puts something concrete about job security in front of members. We also need to think about what will ensure we have jobs to come back to,” OPSEU said.
OPSEU has requested a $1.75 hourly wage increase in 2025, as well as 4 per cent increases in 2026 and 2027. The CEC has proposed annual increases of two per cent in 2025 and 2026, followed by 1.5 per cent in 2027.
The union has also called for the on-call premium to rise to $3 from $1 an hour, a rate it claims has remained unchanged since 2008. The CEC has countered the proposal with an increase to $1.50.
The CEC claims its proposals amount to $140 million in wages, benefits and job security measures.
“Unreasonable demands like these are not intended to be accepted, they are intended to cause a strike action,” Lloyd said. “Colleges are in survival mode, given enrolment decreases of as much as 45 percent, and OPSEU is negotiating as though money simply doesn’t matter. Colleges will never agree to these types of demands, and a strike will not and cannot change that.”
Christine Kelsey, chair of the full-time support bargaining team and an assistive technologist at Algonquin College, said because of the job cuts, we need some guarantee that we can protect what’s left so students don’t fall through the cracks.”
Humber, in an email to students, assured continuation of classes and changes in delivery will be communicated via email and Blackboard.
“Please know that Humber and U of GH are committed to student success, and we will ensure that all students have the opportunity to achieve their learning goals in a timely manner. To date, no Ontario college student has ever lost a year because of a strike,” the email said.
Residences and dining facilities will remain open in case of a strike. Additional bargaining dates have been scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10, 2025.
(Harnoor Kaur, a full-time journalism student, is also employed as a part-time support staff member.)
