More than 10,000 college support staff, members of the Ontario Public Sector Employees Union (OPSEU) are on strike to demand funding for public colleges. Provincial funding for Ontario colleges has dropped 30 per cent since 2013, while funding for private companies has climbed by whopping 800 per cent since 2020.
As a result, 10,000 jobs have been cut across the college system – the largest string of lay-offs in the province’s history. This will negatively impact the quality of education our future nurses and health-care professionals receive because without staff and educators there is no education.
This isn’t mismanagement. It’s a blatant attempt to gut our public education system.
- Taxpayer money is being funneled away from campuses to subsidize duplicate programs by private companies that have no responsibility to report spending to Ontarians.
- 600 programs have been suspended or cancelled alongside 10,000 job layoffs.
- There is no transparency or accountability.
- Nursing students already pay comparatively high tuition fees, with very limited supports and grants to help them through their programs.
- Cuts to college programs and staff will negatively impact nursing students’ quality of education.
- Without public colleges, our next generation of nurses and health-care professionals will have to go farther and spend more to get an education and good paying job.
- Like health care, colleges were built to be local, comprehensive and accessible. Funnelling public dollars to private companies goes against these principles.
- We need strong public services, like health care and education, to ensure a high quality of life for every Ontarian across the province.
Take Action
- Email or call your MPP to demand real investment in public colleges: www.opseu.org/saveourcolleges.
- Print and post “Save Our Colleges” posters. You can also order solidarity signs here.
- Adopt a picket line. Join a picket line in your community to show support for striking college support staff: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/adopt-a-picket-line-ona-supports-college-workers/
