College union maintains unreasonable demands, rejects arbitration and gives strike notice

TORONTO, Sept. 3, 2025 /CNW/ - After 21 days of collective bargaining, the union representing full-time support staff at Ontario's 24 public colleges (OPSEU) has repeatedly rejected calls for interest arbitration and given notice that it intends to begin strike action on September 11, 2025.

"OPSEU is looking for a strike, when it should be looking for a deal on behalf of full-time support staff," said Graham Lloyd, CEO of College Employer Council (CEC). "A strike does not benefit anyone in the college community – not students and not their members. Colleges have offered the union more than $145 million in wage and benefit improvements, in addition to increased job security protections. OPSEU is insisting on demands it knows are wholly unachievable given the financial challenges facing our system."

Highlights of CEC proposals include:

1. Wage increases of 2 per cent in each year of the contract
2. Increased on-call premiums by 75 per cent (to $1.75/hr)
3. Increased shift premiums by 67 and 75 per cent (to $1.25/hr and $1.75/hr)
4. Enhanced employment stability committee rights
5. Enhanced vacation carryover rights
6. Improved vision and hearing aid coverage
7. Increased recall rights by 50 per cent (to 18 months) for employees with less than two years of service
8. Severance enhancements increased by 50 per cent for employees laid off due to the current financial crisis facing the system
9. Removal of CEC proposals that the union communicated as concessionary
10. Guaranteeing employee rights to disconnect from work

OPSEU has refused to agree to these proposals, which deliver the job security they claim to seek, unless colleges accept demands that are simply out of touch with the realities of the situation. OPSEU's demands all but guarantee students will be impacted just as most of them are returning to the classroom. OPSEU's current proposals represent more than $400 million in new costs and significantly restrict how colleges can operate.

OPSEU claims their goal is job security, yet their demands tell a very different story.

Highlights of OPSEU's most recent proposals include:

1. A total ban on campus mergers or closures during the life of the agreement
2. Wage increases of approximately 4 per cent in each year of the contract
3. Up to 17 additional paid days off for family and other types of leave, in addition to the more than 25 paid days off that an employee receives. This would mean 42 paid days off, more than 10% of the calendar year
4. A total ban on any staff reductions during the life of the agreement
5. Expanded gender affirmation coverage and other benefits
6. Significant restrictions on how colleges can introduce and train students in the technologies of the future, including AI technology

"Unreasonable demands like these are not intended to be accepted, they are intended to cause a strike action," said Lloyd. "Colleges are in survival mode given enrolment decreases of as much as 45 percent and OPSEU is negotiating as though money simply doesn't matter. Colleges will never agree to these types of demands, and a strike will not and cannot change that."

OPSEU has rejected CEC's multiple calls to refer outstanding issues to an interest arbitrator to avoid a strike. Instead, the union gave notice that a strike will commence on September 11, 2025, if a deal cannot be reached.    

Additional bargaining dates have been scheduled for September 9 and 10, 2025. 

About the CEC
The College Employer Council is the government mandated bargaining agent for the 24 Ontario publicly funded colleges in negotiating collective agreements with unionized staff. In addition, the CEC is the policyholder for group benefits in the sector. It also provides a variety of services for the college system such as advice and guidance on human resources issues, collective agreement administration, administrative compensation, and research.

SOURCE College Employer Council

For further information or media inquiries, contact: Bill Steinburg, Interim Director of Communications, [email protected], 437- 595-9307; Graham Lloyd, CEO, [email protected], 416-902-9543