Article – The halls of Ontario’s 24 public colleges may soon fall silent as more than 10,000 support staff inch closer to potential strike action. After receiving a “no-board” report from the Ministry of Labour, support workers represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) could legally walk off the job as early as September 21.
“We’re not asking for the moon here,” says Rasho Donef, chair of the OPSEU bargaining team, during a crowded Zoom meeting with members last Thursday. “We’re asking for fair wages that keep pace with inflation and working conditions that reflect the essential services we provide to students every day.”
These workers—the administrative assistants, IT specialists, library technicians, and countless others—form the operational backbone of Ontario’s college system. They’re the first faces students see at registration and often the last to turn out the lights after evening classes.
The College Employer Council, which negotiates on behalf of all 24 Ontario colleges, maintains they’ve offered a reasonable compensation package within provincial funding constraints.
“We’ve been working diligently to find a path forward,” Council CEO Graham Lloyd stated in a press release. “The economic realities facing our institutions cannot be ignored.”
Those economic realities include the Ford government’s 2019 tuition cut, which slashed revenues by 10 percent, followed by a tuition freeze that has remained in place ever since. The fiscal pressure has intensified as inflation has risen steadily over the past two years.
At Centennial College’s Progress Campus in Scarborough, registration clerk Maria Suarez explains the growing frustration among staff. “When I started here eight years ago, we processed maybe 200 applications a day. Now it’s double that, with fewer people, and our wages have barely budged while rent has gone up 40 percent.”
The financial strain is real. According to Statistics Canada, Ontario’s inflation rate has hovered between 3.2 and 4.7 percent over the past year, while the College Employer Council’s initial wage offer was just 1.75 percent annually over three years.
This potential strike comes at a particularly vulnerable time for Ontario’s college system. International student enrollment—which many institutions have relied upon to offset domestic funding shortfalls—faces uncertainty following federal government caps announced earlier this year.
At George Brown College in downtown Toronto, students express mixed emotions about the looming job action.
“I support the workers, but I’m worried about my program,” says Priya Mehta, a second-year dental hygiene student. “We already lost time during the COVID years. I can’t afford more delays.”
The possible strike has caught the attention of provincial politicians, with NDP colleges critic Laura Mae Lindo calling on the Ford government to “stop sitting on the sidelines.”
“These workers keep our colleges running, and they deserve a fair deal,” Lindo said during question period last week. “The government needs to ensure colleges have stable funding so they can offer fair wages without cutting services to students.”
Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop has so far declined to intervene directly, stating that the collective bargaining process should be respected.
The last major college faculty strike in 2017 lasted five weeks and affected more than 500,000 students. That walkout ended only after back-to-work legislation was passed.
Unlike faculty, however, support staff have historically received less public attention during labour disputes, despite their critical role in student services. This disconnect sometimes leaves students confused about how a support staff strike might affect their education.
“If there’s no one to process financial aid or help with registration issues, students could face serious problems,” explains Sheridan College financial aid officer Dennis McCormick. “Some might even be forced to withdraw if they can’t get their OSAP sorted or access essential services.”
The College Employer Council and OPSEU have scheduled intensive bargaining sessions for September 13-15, with both sides expressing hope that a deal can be reached before the strike deadline.
For many support staff, the issues extend beyond wages. Workload concerns, contracting out, and job security have emerged as key sticking points in negotiations.
“Ten years ago, our IT department had 15 full-time staff. Now we’re down to eight, handling more systems and more students,” says Mohawk College IT specialist Wei Chen. “Meanwhile, more work gets contracted out to private firms at higher costs.”
As the deadline approaches, both students and staff are preparing for possible disruptions. College administrations have begun communicating contingency plans, though many essential services would be significantly reduced or paused entirely during a work stoppage.
At Fleming College in Peterborough, Student Union president Jaime Park is organizing information sessions to help students understand what services might be affected. “Students need to know their rights and what to expect if a strike happens,” Park says. “We’re also looking at ways to support both students and workers through this uncertain time.”
With just days remaining before potential job action, the pressure is mounting on both sides to find common ground. For Ontario’s college system—still recovering from pandemic disruptions and facing enrollment challenges—the stakes couldn’t be higher.
