If $1 billion demands aren’t met, Ontario colleges are poised to strike in early 2025

Tensions are rising between colleges and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), as post-secondary workers represented by the union are preparing to strike in the new year.

In a recent release, the College Employer Council indicated that during negotiations between the OPSEU academic bargaining team and the College Employer Council (CEC), both parties agreed to meet again on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 for an extended mediation process.

However, CEC representatives claim to have been thrown a loop, as OPSEU officials requested a no-board report from the Ministry of Labour — priming workers for a strike in early 2025.

As for why college workers are digging in their heels, Ravi Ramkissoonsingh, a professor and Chief Steward for OPSEU Local 242, told INsauga.com that it is due to unrealistic expectations set by the CEC that he says will inevitably hurt educational institutions and their workers.

“Ontario college faculty will enter a legal position to call for a strike in the new year — and the colleges can entirely prevent it by coming back to the table on January 6-7 with an offer that protects the college system, instead of dismantling it, Ramkissoonsingh told INsauga.com via email.

As for the CEC’s perspective, they are convinced that any further stonewalling by OPSEU officials will hurt academic infrastructure even further.

“Throughout this bargaining process, our goal has remained the same: We want to keep our students learning and faculty in the classroom. That is why we initially proposed binding arbitration and continue to urge OPSEU to agree. We do not know why they would prefer to disrupt student learning,” said Graham Lloyd, CEO of CEC, in an official statement.

Data relayed by the CEC indicates that OPSEU representatives are bargaining for OPSEU’s reductions in classroom teaching time and a maximum of 29 weeks of available teaching time in a year.

It’s something that CEC officials allege is unobtainable.

“The Union is making demands it knows the colleges can never agree to, such as reducing their class time by 25 per cent to less than nine hours per week,” said Dr. Laurie Rancourt, Chair of the management bargaining team, in a statement.

CEC officials further indicated that OPSEU’s last settlement offer cited $1 billion in new annual costs — 55 per cent of the current total academic costs to Ontario colleges.

However, Ramkissoonsingh, and by extension, the union he represents, believes that if these expenses aren’t taken into account and implemented, Ontario’s entire post-secondary structure will collapse.

“Our colleges are vital to the economic futures of our communities and the province, yet they are crumbling under their failed stewardship. Ontario can’t afford to have education bulldozed. Faculty have a better plan. Our agenda centers on quality education and a system that doesn’t run on exploiting students and workers. Their agenda is a race to the bottom,” says Ramkissoonsingh.

At the time of publication, OPSEU officials have not relayed a current timeline of a 2025 strike. However, it can be anticipated to be sooner rather than later.

“If we don’t make a stand today, I’m not sure what will be left of the colleges for students to come back to,” Ramkissoonsingh says.