September 17th, 2025
Since Thursday September 11th, 10,000 full-time college support staff have been on strike for the future of student supports – including childcare services, after the employer effectively walked away from negotiations. The colleges’ bargaining agent, the CEC, has so far refused language on contracting out and job security.
Both of these issues are directly connected to sustaining the high-quality childcare services that our members provide. College support staff are fighting to keep childcare services in-house, well-staffed and accessible to maintain a high standard of care.
If chronic government underfunding of colleges isn’t addressed, we will continue to see services closed, programs cut, and workers laid off. Over the last twenty years, at least 9 of 24 Ontario Colleges have closed on-site childcare programs. Losing these childcare spaces has a direct impact on students, those working at the college, and the surrounding community. Our college system also has dozens of Early Childhood Educator programs that train the ECE’s of tomorrow – we cannot afford to lose them.
OPSEU/SEFPO empathizes with families whose childcare plans are being affected by the strike. Every parent understands the difficulty of not having childcare available when they are trying to juggle work and other family responsibilities. Many of our members working at the colleges – including those currently on strike – are in the same position.
OPSEU/SEFPO is prepared to negotiate, just as we were at 4pm on the day of the strike deadline when the employer walked away from discussions. Our members want to get back to doing the critical work they do across campuses. We encourage concerned parents to contact their college and urge the employer back to the table to settle a fair agreement that will protect jobs and services – like daycares – that our communities rely on.
We also extend our deep gratitude to all the parents whose children are in childcare services operated by our members who have visited picket lines and have stood in solidarity with us during the strike. This fight is one that will impact the future of services and student supports on our campuses for generations to come.