Mediation broke off, Ontario college support staff strike enters third week

The Ontario college full-time support staff strike entered week three as talks broke off Monday following three days of mediation.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) says negotiations broke down when the College Employer Council (CEC) refused progress on job security.

Just hours after talks resumed last week, Georgia College announced the closure of its Orillia and Muskoka campuses. It is unclear how many jobs will be affected by the closures.

The union, representing 10,000 support staff across the province, is calling for guarantees against further campus shutdowns and layoffs.

In a news release, the CEC says the council is in “deep frustration after the bargaining team abruptly reversed course during mediation talks.”

OPSEU dropped its demand for a ban on layoffs and campus closures, but it is pushing the employer to put a ban on all contracting out unless approved by the union and restrictions on collaborative work. The CEC says it can’t accept either.

“We made real progress until OPSEU communicated that there could be no agreement unless CEC accepted the union’s restrictions on contracting out or collaborative work. We have clearly communicated to them since bargaining began that we can never accept these demands,” the CEC said in a news release.

The council says its current $155 million offer includes wage increases, on-call pay and bereavement leave.

Support for striking staff has also come for students. Last week, Humber students walked out at the North campus in support of picketers.

Megan Naylor, a media productions coordinator support staff at Humber, says having the support of students means a lot.

“My whole job is directly supporting students. We love the students. That’s why we do this,” Naylor said. “It means so much to know that they are thinking about us and they understand that we are an important part of the college experience.”

Vivek Kadavath Purayil, a first-year student in the personal support work program, says most of his classes have switched to online learning, since the curriculum relies on equipment that full-time support staff would usually operate. 

“We haven’t been able to get the same kind of experience we would’ve had in the classroom,” he said. “The full-time support staff and those working in the technical department and libraries are very essential to the functioning of the classroom, their support is very essential.”

The provincial mediator appointed on Sept. 23 remains available for when both sides agree to return to the bargaining table.

OPSEU held a major rally at the Humber North campus on Oct. 2. Support staff from Seneca, George Brown and Centennial joined the picket line as early as 7 a.m.

The part-time support staff, who have been without a contract for 19 months, will vote between Oct. 14 and 17 on whether to give their bargaining team a strike mandate.