The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) fully supports college workers represented by the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) as they fight to uphold an accessible and high-quality public college system in Ontario.
Public colleges train skilled workers, support key industries such as health care and manufacturing, and offer life-changing opportunities to students in Ontario. However, years of underfunding, program cuts and creeping privatization have put this system at risk.
“By slashing per-student funding and diverting public dollars to private, for-profit training companies, the government has jeopardized the province’s public college system,” said David Robinson, CAUT executive director. “College workers are standing up for quality education, decent jobs and strong communities, and we stand with them.”
CAUT urges the government to return to the bargaining table in good faith, reach a settlement that recognizes the indispensable contributions of support staff, and commit to operational funding that brings Ontario in line with other provinces. The bargaining team’s call for a moratorium on campus closures and mergers is essential to save Ontario’s public colleges.
“We encourage CAUT members to join OPSEU’s picket lines and stand in solidarity with Ontario college workers in their fight for a fair deal,” said Robinson.
CAUT is the national voice of more than 75,000 academic and professional staff at over 130 colleges and universities nationwide.
