Some 10,000 support staff at Ontario’s 24 publicly-funded colleges are on the brink of walking off the job as crunch talks continue toward a midnight strike deadline.

Staff represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union have been bargaining for a new deal from the College Employer Council for months, but moved toward strike action in August.

Key sticking points appear to relate to job security in the struggling college sector, where a massive reduction in the number of international students has hurt revenue, forced thousands of job cuts and closed campuses.

Christine Kelsey, chair of the College Support Full-Time Bargaining Team, said talks would go until the midnight strike deadline if necessary.

“College full-time support staff have been bargaining with our employer for m

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