Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for tuition to be refunded to students impacted by a teachers’ strike at Ontario colleges.

More than 12,000 staff at 12 Ontario colleges, including professors, instructors, counsellors, and librarians, walked off the job Monday after contract talks broke off between the Ontario Public Services Employees Union and the College Employer Council, which is responsible for bargaining on behalf of colleges.

That means more than 500,000 students are missing classes, including more than 10,000 at St. Clair College where over 330 staff are walking the picket lines.

On Sunday, a petition was launched asking that full-time and part-time students be refunded tuition for the time they miss in the classroom.

More than 67.000 people have signed the petition. It asks that full-time students be refunded $30 per day for every day the strike continues and part-time students be refunded $20 per day.

Students are also using the hashtag #Wepaytolearn to support their cause on social media.

JP Hornick, chair of the union bargaining team, said she supports the petition.

“I applaud the students for what they are doing in terms of the petitions, the actions they are taking, and the shows of support they have already made to us on these issues,” Hornick said.

“My message to them is we understand. This is all about them actually. We are standing up for quality and fairness in the system to ensure that they have the best education we can give them,” she said.

She encouraged students to come speak to faculty members on the picket line.

No new talks are scheduled.

Among the issues in the strike, instructors want more input in the curriculum. The union also wants a better full-time to part-time staff ratio and more money for instructors.

The College Employer Council, which bargains for the colleges, called the strike completely unnecessary.

The union's demands would have added more than $250 million in annual costs, the council said.

Don Sinclair, the head of the Council, feels the two sides are too far apart.

“We have an offer on the table for four years at 7.75 per cent” says Sinclair. “We believe the union should let the faculty vote on it. They have rejected that.”