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Approximately 10,000 full-time support staff walked off the job on Sept. 11. Three weeks later, the job action continues as with no apparent end in sight after talks between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and the College Employer Council (CEC) broke down on Monday.
The strike has not resulted in classes being cancelled for the most part but it has caused significant disruptions, including the closure of the on-site daycares operated by many colleges and staffed by union members.
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“I know that making alternative child care arrangements can be stressful for families, but most families I’ve heard from understand that the college staff, including their kids’ ECEs, are trying to improve stability of college services, which includes college child care,” OCBCC’s Carolyn Ferns said in an email.
In a previous release, OPSEU said it empathizes with the families whose childcare planes were directly impacted 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,” the union said in a statement on Sept. 17.
A spokesperson for George Brown College said its childcare programs, serving infants through preschoolers, remain closed as they are exclusively staffed by full-time educators who are part of OPSEU. Across their programs, the college said it serves around 400 children under the age of four.
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