Approximately 180 support workers at Conestoga College could be cut or reassigned after the school notified them of mass layoffs. The union representing support staff employees confirmed the workers were laid off during a Zoom meeting Tuesday afternoon. According to the union, Local 238 represents 840 full-time, 90 regular part-time and thousands of part-time contract support staff. Union president Vikki Poirier, who represents those laid off workers, said they fall into three categories. “They’re either a probationary employee with less than six months service, or they were to be laid off, or reassigned,” she said in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday. Poirier said the college hasn’t seen job action like this in its history. “Within reassignment, it’s either to a position that is currently vacant or a position that unfortunately, or in reality, someone else is in,” she said. According to Poirier, there could be up to four rounds in the bumping process. She also said knowing her colleagues’ lives have changed overnight weighs heavily on her. “It’s heart wrenching, it really is,” said a tearful Poirier. “Our support staff are the foundation of the college. We are the backbone of the college. And sometimes I think that that’s forgotten.” A memo sent to staff by the Conestoga’s administration department on Monday said the move comes after changes to Canada’s international work permit program were introduced. “Conestoga has been impacted by significant enrolment reductions and, after a comprehensive review, has determined that in addition to other cost-cutting measures, a number of support staff positions must be eliminated,” said Dean Bulloch, senior vice president & secretary general to the Conestoga Board of Governors, in a statement. The layoffs also come after a memo signed by Conestoga College’s President John Tibbits was sent out earlier this month, announcing several administration positions at the college had been eliminated. The memo claimed the federal government’s decision to implement a cap on international student enrolment, and other unnamed changes, had created a perception Canada was “no longer a welcoming country for international education.” The document also noted the college had shared a notice of layoff on March 28, confirming the school’s intention to reduce support staff positions. All of this comes after Ontario’s Sunshine List was released, showing Tibbits as the top earning public sector employee in Waterloo Region last year. His salary came in at $636,106.70 before taxable benefits. But Poirier isn’t putting all the blame on the college. “If we were properly funded as a publicly funded institute, we wouldn’t be here right now. I truly believe that,” she said. Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary for the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, said in an email to CTV News they recognize the changes to the federal government’s international student visa permitting process has resulted in the post-secondary sector to make difficult decisions to ensure long-term success and sustainability. “Our government will continue to work with the sector to ensure that they’re able to keep providing Ontario students with the education and skills they need for good-paying, in-demand jobs and careers,” Giacoboni said, in part. The Ministry also emphasizes a focus on students and their education, with programming and student supports prioritized over raising executives’ salaries. As for what these layoffs mean long-term, Poirier is confident the effects will be felt far beyond the campus. “With the resources, the employment opportunities, our college trains the future generations to work in the community,” she said. And the community shouldn’t forget that.”
