SUDBURY—The five-week province-wide strike by Ontario college full-time support staff is over, at least for now. A tentative agreement was reached on October 15 between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council, which represents Ontario colleges, including Cambrian College.
Following the tentative agreement picket lines have ended and support staff returned to work on Thursday, October 16, ending picketing at all of Ontario’s 24 public colleges, including Cambrian.
The tentative agreement, which was the result of a private mediation session, is subject to ratification by OPSEU members. That vote is scheduled to take place by November 4.
At Cambrian College, more than 200 full-time support staff were involved in the job action. The strike affected students by causing traffic disruptions due to picket lines and limiting access to vital services such as IT and equipment sign-outs. Outside the Little Current Cambrian offices, striking workers picketed across the street. According to the strikers, they chose that location as they did not want to interfere with businesses on the main street.
The strike, which began on September 11, involved approximately 10,000 full-time college support workers across Ontario. Key issues in the dispute centered on job security and concerns over government funding cuts to public colleges.
The Ford government froze college funding soon after taking office in 2018, forcing greater reliance on foreign students to balance the books at Ontario’s colleges. The situation became even more fraught when limits were later placed on the number of foreign student visas allowed into Canada.
Until the main vote on the tentative agreement, at least, things have stabilized with the full-time support worker staff, but all is not quiet on the college strike front. Part-time support staff recently held a strike vote in which 64 percent voted to give their union a strike mandate.
“Today, part-time college support staff have sent a strong message to our employer who has dragged out negotiations for almost two years; we need a fair deal now,” reads a statement on the OPSEU webpage.
“We know that the employer’s latest proposal doesn’t go nearly far enough: proposing no wage increases for all of 2024, and possibly 2025 is insulting,” continues the statement. “We’re fighting for better for all part-timers—including students and casual staff—and to win a collective agreement that ensures dignity in the workplace for everyone.”
According to the union, such a settlement would include: fair wage increases; paid sick days; 24-hour shift cancellation protections; enshrining equity and inclusion in the collective agreement such as time off for religious holidays in line with provincial legislation; and basic structures such as job descriptions, pathways for career advancement and feedback on unsuccessful interviews.
Meanwhile, professors at the colleges are also in ongoing negotiations, and have agreed to enter into mediation-arbitration to resolve the contract issues.
