Confederation College support staff members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local3 731 were among more than 10,000 Ontario college workers to hit the picket line Thursday morning after talks with the College Employer Council broke off on Wednesday.

Ontario college workers have been negotiating employers for job security and increased government funding since June.

Owen Smith, Confederation College’s support staff president for OPSEU Local 731, said the College Employer Council, which is the bargaining agent for Ontario’s 24 colleges, didn’t want to negotiate with OPSEU’s bargaining team.

“In our negotiations, we tried to stop the cuts in the entire college system,” said Smith. “There have been over 10,000 layoffs recently, and over 650 program cuts across the provi

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