Fanshawe College support staff, represented by Local 109 of OPSEU/SEFPO, remain on the picket line as the province-wide strike enters its second week. The labour action began on September 11 after negotiations stalled between the union and the College Employer Council, which bargains on behalf of Ontario’s 24 public colleges.
Local 109 Union President Adam Rayfield, who represents roughly 650 staff across Fanshawe’s London, Simcoe, St. Thomas, and Woodstock campuses, says the dispute is not about wages or benefits, but job security.
Rayfield explained they don’t want to see the essential student services they provide continue to disappear.
Support staff include IT technicians, facilities workers, payroll and finance clerks, lab technicians, library and bookstore staff, and front-line student service employees.
But they even stretch outside of the main campuses as well.
Rayfield notes that declining staff numbers directly affect students, from academic advising to accessibility services.
Talks between the two sides have not resumed since the strike began, and no new bargaining dates have been set.
Rayfield is urging the College Employer Council to return to the table and calling on the public to reach out to college administrations and their local MPPs.
He also pointed to stagnant provincial funding as a key factor noting that tuition has been frozen since 2019, while government funding has been flat for over a decade.
With no deal in sight, Rayfield says they are concerned about what will happen next, looking at other union disputes that have taken place over the past few months alone.
He says they want both parties to come together with professionalism and purpose to find a solution that secures the future of Ontario’s public colleges.