Support staff strike fails to dampen registrations at Loyalist, says president

By Renée Rodgers

The Ontario-wide college support-staff strike hasn’t discouraged students from registering at Loyalist College, says the school’s president.

Maureen Piercy she doesn’t expect enrollment to the school to have declined from last year.

“We understand that our full-time enrollment is at about the same level as last year,” Piercy said in an interview September 19, the day after Ontario Public Service Employees Union and the bargaining team representing all 24 Ontario colleges reached a tentative agreement. “But that was 10 days ago. We continue to register students through the first 10 days of school so it really remains to be seen where it will all shake out.”

Support-staff workers at all 24 Ontario colleges began what would be an 18-day strike September 1. The main issues in the strike were job security, benefits and wages.

A tentative agreement, which still must be approved by college support-staff members, was reached Sept. 18. Staff returned to work Sept. 20.

The union had originally asked for a three-per-cent annual wage increase over three years. The website for the union’s local chapter, number 421, said the tentative agreement is for a three-year contact with percentage increases of 1.5, 1.75 and 2.0. Concessions have also been removed, said the website.

College support-staff includes registrars, counselors, librarians, administrators, IT staff and cleaners.

While Piercy said final enrollment numbers have not yet been calculated, the information will become known in the coming weeks.