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For more information, please contact: [email protected]Union representing 10,000 striking full-time college support staff aims to re-start negotiations through settlement proposal: “We’re waiting at the table.”
October 10, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEToronto, ON – Earlier today, the Ontario full-time college support staff bargaining team, represented by OPSEU/SEFPO, re-engaged negotiations with the College Employer Council (CEC). The union says that a comprehensive package with a pathway to settlement was sent to the employer, along with an invitation to come back to the bargaining table.“We have been out on the line for just shy of a month. The situation is reaching a boiling point,” said Christine Kelsey, chair of the full-time support staff bargaining team. “Students can’t access critical services we provide, including accessibility supports, and convocations are being cancelled. The semester is slipping away.”“We need to get back to our work supporting students. For their sake, we hope the CEC can walk this path with us towards a resolution,” added Kelsey. “The bargaining team has made ourselves available, all together in Toronto. We’re waiting at the table.”Full-time college support staff at all 24 of Ontario’s colleges have been on strike since September 11, 2025, with job security as the top demand. Obtained copies of corporate college audits, commissioned by the Ford government through a $15 million handover, paint an alarming vision for Ontario’s colleges. The union says proposed cutbacks – including automation, outsourcing, and mergers – reinforce that protections won this round will be instrumental in fighting future layoffs.The parties last met for three days late last month, September 26-29, with a provincially appointed mediator. The union says that the employer declared an impasse over job security the following Monday, and walked away from the table – again.“Not only have we reached out to restart talks, we have also written to college presidents, who need to step up and show real leadership in this moment,” says Kelsey. “The five best-paid college presidents in Ontario made an average of $492,000 last year. Students pay those salaries – and want their semester back,” added Kesley. “College presidents have a mandate to protect the student experience, so what are they doing to help end this strike?”