Striking Oxfam workers stage “big head” action to call employer back to the table

Workers at Oxfam Canada represented by CUPE Local 2722 have been working without a contract since March of 2025. The post Striking Oxfam workers stage “big head” action to call employer back to the table appeared first on rabble.ca .

Striking Oxfam Canada workers staged a “Big Head” protest on July 8 as their strike surpassed its fourth week. The “Big Head” action is an Oxfam speciality, according to Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 2722 president Lisa Gunn. The protest action involves making a giant sculpture of a leader’s head and using it to draw attention to and expose the misdeeds of the person depicted.

“Usually it’s leaders of the G20 or the large presidents, prime ministers of the U.S., Canada, France and other big, powerful countries. It’s a way to draw attention to the demands that Oxfam asks at these things, which are all around equality, justice and gender rights,” Gunn said in an interview with rabble.ca . Now, Oxfam Canada executive director Lauren Ravon has had this tactic highlight her own actions.

Workers said Ravon has not come back to the table and they have no confirmation of where she actually is. “Part of our strategy right now is asking, ‘Where is Lauren Ravon?’” Gunn said.

“Is she on vacation? Is she just hiding from us? We’d love for her to reach out as the head of our organization to get us back to work, because she said she wants us back to work.

We want to be back at work. I wish I could tell you where she is.” Oxfam workers’ collective agreement expired on March 31, 2025.

CUPE 2722 the Oxfam leaders have been negotiating to reach a new deal but bargaining reached an impasse and the CUPE 2722 strike began on June 11. Oxfam Canada is part of the global Oxfam non-governmental organization that works to build solutions to poverty and injustice with a particular focus on the rights of women and girls. Oxfam’s website says they uphold values of equality and accountability.

“We believe everyone has the right to be treated fairly and to have the same rights and opportunities,” the Oxfam Canada website reads. “We take responsibility for our action and inaction and hold ourselves accountable to the people we work with and for.” Workers are pushing to protect cost-of-living adjustments to wages, leave provisions for gender affirming care and protection and support for workers experiencing domestic violence.

Gunn said these demands are in line with Oxfam’s values. “We’re all incredibly disappointed that it had to come to this. I don’t think any of us ever thought that we would actually have to pull our labor and be on strike.

Yeah, because we know that the things that we’re asking for are completely in line with what Oxfam Canada does.” READ MORE: Fighting rising intimate partner violence in Canada through the Universal Caregiver model Oxfam Canada workers have been unionized for 44 years and this is the first time they have been on strike. The employer said they remain committed to their feminist values and they support the right to strike. The employer said their bargaining tactics are shaped by the current disruptions in the international development sector.

“Oxfam Canada’s proposal is built around two priorities: protecting the strong employment conditions that staff have built over decades of bargaining, and offering meaningful wage increases in a difficult environment,” a statement on the Oxfam website reads. Despite the challenges Oxfam said they are facing, CUPE 2722 maintains that their demands for workers are reasonable. “There’s a lot of understanding from the public that what we’re asking for isn’t outrageous, it’s perfectly reasonable and fair,” Gunn said.

“A lot of donors have been very receptive to hearing our side. They recognize that the way that we’ve been treated by our employer isn’t aligned with Oxfam values. If we get a deal that sort of meets the demands of the union, I think it would strengthen Oxfam Canada.”

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