A striking college support staffer in Stratford wants the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) and College Employer Council (CEC) to return to the bargaining table.
Staff at Conestoga College, including its Stratford campus, have been on strike since last Thursday, with 10,000 support staff represented by OPSEU starting a strike across Ontario’s 24 public colleges.
In an interview with MyStratfordNow at the Stratford campus, training consultant Carol Schlievrt said they are on strike to stop the privatization of some services offered within the college system.
“Student support is what we are really out here fighting for,” said Schlievert.
“It’s so that the student support stays in-house, so anyone working inside Conestoga (for example) and knows the college system can better service that student as opposed to having them call a 1-800 number to find service and not get the information they need as quickly as needed.”
At Stratford campus, Schlievrt said no jobs have been lost there because it’s a new campus.
“This campus location only opened up at the beginning of this September.”
She said staff are also striking and advocating for job security on their side, and a cost-of- living raise. The picket lines have seen mostly positive support from the community.
This strike comes as this year has seen 10,000 jobs lost and over 650 programs cut in Ontario, according to OPSEU.
The union added that the colleges’ bargaining agent walked away from the table with remaining proposals unanswered, leaving the union alone for eight hours.
The CEC has said both parties are at a bargaining standstill, despite the council recently offering a 50 percent improvement to recall rights, a 50 percent increase in severance pay, and more disclosure around decisions that could impact college staff.
Schlievrt said both parties need to go back to the table now.
“They should have been doing this Thursday when we first went out,” said Schlievrt.
“What we are looking at is that you can’t budge, can’t make a change unless you both come to the table and talk.”
“We were in for two weeks and then went on strike. There’s only three support staff that work out of this campus, but we hope by letting the public know we’re here, we can bring more programming to the Stratford and surrounding areas.”
Due to the federal government’s cap on international student enrolment, business and accounting programs that were meant to be introduced in the city didn’t end up running.
The Stratford campus is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and local support staff are picketing on those days.
