Ontario colleges just went on strike

More than half a million students in Ontario are unable to attend classes today after faculty members at all 24 of the province's colleges decided to strike.

Humber, George Brown, Seneca, and Centennial College are among the GTA schools that'll be closed for the duration of the strike, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. this morning.

Full-time classes will be cancelled until the strike is over – which might have been awesome in Grade 5, but really sucks for tuition-paying young adults eager to join the workforce.

Hate that my education is being used as a bargaining chip, #wepaytolearn but I stand behind my professors they deserve #aBetterPlan @OPSEU

— Krysten Rischel (@KrystenRischel) October 16, 2017

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents the 12,000 striking college faculty members, had been seeking an agreement with the College Employer Council that would make work less precarious for instructors and other contract employees.

OPSEU's proposal included measures to increase job security for part-time faculty, to give faculty members a stronger voice in academic decision-making, and to ensure a 50:50 ratio in the number of full-time faculty to faculty members on contract.

"Our union has a track record of getting deals done without work stoppages," said OPSEU president Warren Thomas in a statement issued Sunday.

"I encourage the colleges to get back to the table so we can wrap this up swiftly, for the good of students and faculty alike."