More than a month on strike.Oxfam leaders on vacation.Scab labour is wrecking its reputation.

Oxfam Canada workers, represented by CUPE 2722, are on strike because the employer declined fair wages, gender-affirming care leave, and domestic violence protections at the bargaining table. Oxfam champions equality and gender justice globally, and workers are asking it to extend those same protections to its own staff, so they walked off the job to call on Oxfam Canada to practice what it preaches.

They are members of CUPE 2722, the union local representing Oxfam Canada staff across roles (administrative staff, officers, coordinators, managers, and program staff) in Ottawa and Toronto. CUPE 2722 also represents workers at Action Canada.

The strike began on June 11, 2026, in Ottawa and Toronto, after the employer's May 7 'final offer' declined key protections and the union's May 12 comprehensive offer to settle went unanswered. On June 12, 2026 (day two), management changed striking workers' email out-of-office replies to 'I am off work.'

Four asks, each already part of Oxfam's own global advocacy: 10 paid days of gender-affirming (trans-affirming) care plus surgical leave; 5 paid days of domestic violence leave with supports; fair wages that keep pace with the cost of living (protecting the hard-won cost-of-living adjustments staff have long relied on); and basic respect and dignity at work.

Non-unionized and senior leadership team (SLT) staff make about 58% more than unionized members, and SLT salaries are roughly 82% higher. The Executive Director earns about $200,000 a year and other directors about $160,000 each, while unionized Oxfam Canada staff (administrative staff, officers, and managers) had their request for a modest cost-of-living raise declined. In April, non-union staff received raises above what unionized staff asked for. Compensation figures are sourced from Charity Intelligence Canada.

On June 12, 2026, Oxfam Canada management changed every striking worker's email out-of-office message to 'I am off work,' without consent. The union says this speaks for workers, frames collective action as individual absence, and keeps the strike out of view for partners and the public. Workers' response: 'We are not off. We are on strike.'

Send a message to Oxfam Canada's leadership through the CUPE 2722 letter on Action Network, join the picket lines in Ottawa (39 McArthur Avenue) or Toronto (110 Wellesley Street West) Monday to Friday from 10am to 2pm, and follow CUPE 2722 on LinkedIn to amplify bargaining and picket updates.