TRENTON, Canada 

More than 10,000 support staff at 24 Ontario colleges in Canada hit the picket lines Thursday.

The College Employer Council (CEC), which represents publicly-funded schools, and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), representing workers such as registrar employees and technology support staff, face a gulf between the two sides and an agreement.

The CEC said the union demands for job security at a time when colleges have seen revenues drop as much as 50%, and enrolments are down due to a federal government cap on international students, are impossible.

“A complete ban on campus closures, college mergers and staff reductions could force colleges into bankruptcy,” said CEC’s CEO Graham Lloyd in a statement on the eve of the strike. “CEC has repeatedly advised OPSEU that these types of demands simply can never be agreed to.”

The union said planned cuts at colleges could lead to 10,000 job losses, noting that more than 650 programs have already been cancelled.

“This is not just a fight for a contract – it’s about the future of student support,” OPSEU said in a statement. “We’re fighting because we know our students need us.

“Students deserve quality services kept in-house – not contracted out – and done by the support staff who know how to do the job and have institutional knowledge.”

The CEC walked away Wednesday from the bargaining table, a move criticized by the union. But the CEC urged the union to agree to mediation and or arbitration “to help us reach an agreement.”