Overview
- OPSEU members launched picket lines after rejecting the College Employer Council’s latest offer, leaving negotiations stalled.
- Colleges say campuses remain open and classes continue, though students should expect delays or reduced access to support services.
- The union prioritizes stronger job protections, including limits on closures, mergers and layoffs, which the employer says could push colleges toward insolvency.
- The employer council pegs the union’s proposals at more than $900 million and has offered 2% annual wage increases with enhanced benefits and severance while urging mediation or arbitration.
- An arbitrator’s report cites more than 8,000 job losses and 600-plus program suspensions across the sector following study-permit cuts and long-criticized provincial underfunding, with the province saying it is monitoring the dispute.