A new Trent support staff deal has been ratified, giving 530 unionized employees at the university’s Oshawa and Peterborough campuses a four-year collective agreement. Trent University’s Board of Governors approved the agreement on July 28, while a majority of voting members of OPSEU/SEFPO Local 365 ratified it on July 14.
The agreement covers support employees working in roles that help operate the university’s academic, administrative and physical services. The bargaining unit includes caretakers, administrative support employees, secretaries, systems analysts, maintenance workers, demonstrators and teaching assistants.
The ratification completes a bargaining process that reached a tentative settlement earlier in July. At that stage, the university and union said the proposed agreement still required approval from both Local 365 members and Trent’s Board of Governors before it could take effect.
Trent Support Staff Deal Includes Annual Wage Increases
Trent University says the agreement provides across-the-board wage increases in each of its four years. The university did not publish the specific percentage increase for each year in its public announcement.
The deal also includes improvements to workplace provisions intended to strengthen the employee experience and support a positive working environment. Additional changes include enhanced employee benefits and workplace supports aimed at promoting long-term health and well-being.
OPSEU/SEFPO Local 365 president William Dowkes said the agreement includes stronger leave provisions and meaningful gains for contract staff. He credited both bargaining teams for working in good faith and thanked union members for remaining engaged throughout the process.
The university described the result as a balanced agreement that invests in employees while considering Trent’s long-term financial sustainability.
Agreement Covers Trent’s Oshawa Campus
The agreement is directly relevant to Durham Region because Trent University operates its Durham Greater Toronto Area campus at 55 Thornton Road South in Oshawa. OPSEU Local 365 is recognized as the bargaining representative for non-academic Trent employees in Peterborough and at other Ontario locations where bargaining-unit work is performed.
Support staff play a broad role in day-to-day university operations. Their responsibilities include maintaining campus buildings, supporting academic departments, managing administrative systems and assisting with laboratory, demonstration and teaching-related activities.
For the Oshawa campus, the four-year agreement provides greater certainty for employees and university operations. It establishes a longer-term framework for compensation, workplace supports and employment provisions affecting eligible staff.
University and Union Welcome Ratification
Trent president and vice-chancellor Cathy Bruce said the four-year term provides stability and sustainability for the university. She thanked both bargaining teams and said the result reflects a shared commitment to Trent’s future and the people who support its working and learning environment.
Dowkes said the agreement benefits union members while supporting the university’s continued success. The union highlighted improved benefits, stronger leave provisions and gains for contract employees among the important outcomes.
The public announcement did not provide a complete article-by-article summary of the new collective agreement. More detailed language, wage schedules and implementation information may become available when Trent publishes the finalized agreement through its labour-relations resources.
The Trent support staff deal follows the tentative settlement announced on July 7 and confirms that both required ratification votes have now been completed. The agreement gives the university and its support employees a four-year framework covering wages, benefits, workplace provisions and employment conditions across the Oshawa and Peterborough campuses.
With the agreement finalized, Trent University and OPSEU/SEFPO Local 365 can move from bargaining to implementation. For employees in Oshawa, the ratification confirms annual wage increases and workplace improvements while providing greater labour stability at Trent’s Durham campus.
