Union condemns closure of bookstores at Sask. Polytech campuses

The Saskatchewan Government and General Employees’ Union (SGEU) is condemning the closure of two Saskatchewan Polytechnic Institute bookstores.

Sask. Polytech has attributed the closure of bookstores on the Prince Albert and Moose Jaw campuses to declining revenue from a drop in international student enrolment, an ongoing crisis that precipitated a round of cuts to out of scope positions in August.

According to SGEU, 10 members will lose their jobs due to the bookstore closures.

“The bookstore closures at the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Moose Jaw and Prince Albert campuses do nothing to better the learning experience and working conditions at this post-secondary institution,” SGEU President Tracey Sauer said in a news release.

“There is no justification for punishing students or workers for a failure to plan around the decrease in funding from international student enrolment.”

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The school issued layoff notices in August, with Sask. Polytech President Larry Rosia saying it faced a “substantial revenue shortfall for the 2025-26 academic year” that would affect programs and employees.

“Our members are proud of the hard work they do to help students have the best educational experience,” said Deb Zawada-Wiebe, chair of the union’s bargaining committee.

“SGEU is working hard right now to try to reduce the impacts on our members and students.”

Alongside the recent layoffs at Sask. Polytech, a number of departments and faculties were dissolved or merged, including the bookstores.

“These are difficult decisions to make as they impact our colleagues’ employment,” Rosia said in August. ”We are deeply grateful for the contributions and dedication of those affected. Their work has been valued and appreciated by all of us at Sask. Polytech.”

Sask. Polytech also cited the drop in international students earlier this year, when it laid off 27 staff members.

There were nearly one million international students in Canada at the end of 2024, according to the Canadian Bureau for International Education. The country saw a four per cent decline in students from abroad by the end of 2024, “a sharp contrast to the 29 per cent growth from 2022 to 2023,” CBIE said.

Rosia has faced criticism in the past from the SGEU, which represents non-academic staff at the post-secondary institution.

In December 2024, the union expressed concerns over a 68 per cent growth in the number of management positions under his leadership, while the rest of the workforce grew by only three per cent.