Ontario college support staff reach tentative deal after nearly 5 weeks on strike. What you need to know.

After nearly five weeks on the picket lines, more than 10,000 full-time college support staff across Ontario have reached a tentative agreement with their employer, their union announced Wednesday.

The deal, brokered after months of tense negotiations, covers workers at all 24 public colleges in the province. Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) will review the details of the settlement later today, with staff expected to return to work on Thursday.

Christine Kelsey, chair of the union’s bargaining team, credited the resolve of members for securing the agreement.

“After months of intensive negotiations with an incredibly difficult employer, the gains made in this agreement would not have been possible without members holding strong these last weeks,” Kelsey said. “We had no choice but to fight back amidst a plan to privatize public education, as well as 10,000 job losses and over 650 program cuts across the system.”

New deal represents more than just workplace gains, union says

Union leaders framed the strike as part of a broader battle over the future of Ontario’s college system, accusing the provincial government of pursuing policies that undermine public education.

According to OPSEU/SEFPO, the three-year deal includes a series of wage, benefit, and job security improvements:

• Wage increases: An across-the-board raise of $1.05 per hour for all workers in the first year.
• Job protections: Enhanced safeguards against technological changes and stronger contracting-out provisions.
• Bargaining unit clarity: New language to help define bargaining unit work, with room to expand in future rounds.
• Re-skilling and severance: Improved re-skilling opportunities, extended recall rights, and enhanced severance packages.
• Compensation adjustments: An increase to on-call rates for the first time since 2005 and higher shift premiums for the first time since 2008.
• Benefits expansion: Inclusion of chosen family for bereavement leave.

OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick praised the determination of staff who walked off the job, saying their actions demonstrated the power of collective action.

“Full-time college support staff took on a tremendous fight, and I’m incredibly proud of our members for getting us to this moment,” Hornick said. “Now, we need to keep building on that momentum and show Ontario what is possible when working people stand together.”

The strike, which began in early September, disrupted services across Ontario’s college network, affecting everything from student advising to IT support. Picket lines are expected to come down immediately, with ratification votes to follow in the coming days.

“We’ve won more than a contract,” Kelsey added. “After being out in our communities, day after day, the public now understands that our college system is being deliberately defunded as part of the collateral of Ford’s devastating privatization agenda.”