More than 10,000 full-time college support staff across Ontario walked off the job on September 11, launching a province-wide strike after the College Employer Council exited contract talks without resolving key issues, including job security.
CAUT called on the college council to negotiate in good faith while expressing solidarity with the workers on the picket lines.
The strike highlighted concerns about threats to public colleges in Ontario. Prior to job action, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) launched its “Save Our Colleges” campaign, an effort to defend public education from chronic underfunding, widespread program cuts and increasing privatization.
The college support staff reached a tentative agreement on October 15 to end the nearly five-week strike. The workers were demanding better wages, benefits and job security.
OPSEU estimates that about 10,000 college jobs are on the line as more than 650 programs have been cut in the past year alone.
OPSEU blames the provincial government for not properly funding post-secondary education and transferring money instead to private training providers, notably through the Skills Development Fund, which is weakening the role of public colleges.
The union represents 200,000 public sector workers in Ontario, including over 45,000 college support staff and faculty at all 24 of the province’s public colleges.
