Bargaining Update - Union seeks strike vote amid $900M in demands at Ontario colleges

After approximately four hours of face-to-face meetings over a six-day period, and before the College Employer Council (CEC) could even respond to union monetary demands, the bargaining team (OPSEU CAAT-FTSS) advised that it will be seeking a strike vote from full-time support staff at Ontario’s 24 publicly funded colleges. This unnecessarily escalates matters just weeks before a new semester for students is about to begin.

At a time when both parties agree that Ontario’s colleges are facing unprecedented financial challenges, and what the OPSEU president has described as "one of the largest layoffs in this province’s history,” the union’s demands are estimated to cost more than $900 million over the three years of the proposed agreement. 

The union demands include:

• wage increases exceeding 20% over 3 years;
• benefit increases exceeding $25 million each year;
• 10 additional paid days off for family care;
• 4 additional paid holidays; and
• 2 additional days of vacation. 

These monetary demands represent massive increases to operating costs while seeking fewer working days – something no employer could agree to in the current environment. 

With this said, colleges remain committed to negotiating with the full-time support staff to work toward a renewal collective agreement to benefit students and college employees. The current collective agreement with Ontario colleges’ full-time support staff expires on August 31, 2025.