Union considers filing grievance following Queen’s University layoffs

The union representing several Queen’s University employees laid off while the school faces a multi-million-dollar deficit says it’s considering filing a grievance over the job losses.

United Steelworkers Local 2010 president Kelly Orser tells Global News four of the union’s members received indefinite layoff notices on Wednesday and a fifth is expected to be laid off soon.

The layoffs come as staff and students worry about the university’s projected $48-million deficit and how it may impact jobs and courses.

While Orser says layoffs aren’t uncommon for its members — the union usually expects to see 12-14 a year — she says it’s rare to see so many so early in the year.

When Queen’s lays off a steelworker, which include positions like support staff and academic assistants, Orser says the employees are normally placed into a redeployment pool, meaning when more work comes up they’ll be first on the list to take the job.

But with a hiring freeze on at the university the union worries more work won’t be available for its members.

“If the employer is laying off support staff at the same time that they’re not hiring support staff with a hiring freeze, this could have significant impact across the bargaining unit here at Queen’s,” Orser said Thursday.

Orser said the union is considering filing grievances on behalf of its impacted members.

“Because if there are no jobs posted for them to apply for their pension, their benefits could be on the line,” she said.

‘Careful and deliberate decisions’

A Queen’s spokesperson acknowledged the layoffs in a statement emailed to Global News Thursday.

“While there have been some job losses already and some positions remain unfilled in an effort to balance budgets in the short term, the longer-term outlook requires making careful and deliberate decisions about the use of our resources,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Global News reached out to several other unions representing Queen’s University employees this week and so far, only the United Steelworkers reported back about impacts to its members.

But the union representing graduate teaching assistants, teaching fellows and postdoctoral scholars at the university said while they haven’t experienced layoffs, they are feeling the financial squeeze as well.

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 901’s president Justyna Szewczyk-El Jassem said as an example, teaching fellows are being asked to take on the roles of adjunct professors.

“A teaching fellow doesn’t make the same amount of money as an adjunct professor for essentially doing the same work if we develop and teach our own courses,” she said, adding the extra work load comes on top of food insecurity faced by many graduate students due to low pay.

“Which makes it more difficult for them to do research and graduate on time, so it’s compounding all of the other problems.”

In its statement, Queen’s University blamed its deficit on declining international enrolment, inflation and provincial government decisions include a tuition freeze for Ontario students implemented in 2019.

Projected deficit already reduced, school says

The school’s financial situation has been garnering national attention, after a recent online article published by the student-run Queen’s Journal suggested bankruptcy could be in the university’s future if the current financial situation is not addressed.

Global News’ requests for an interview with school administration about the deficit have not been granted over the past several days.

In a different statement sent to Global News last week, the school said it is “working hard to address a significant structural deficit” and plans are in place return the university to a balanced operating budget by 2025/26.

Work to cut the deficit began last spring and include a hiring freeze and a reduction to the faculty and shared services budget, the school said.

Those efforts have reduced the projected deficit to $48 million from initial projections of $62 million, according to the statement.

Queen’s University has been a major presence in the City of Kingston for almost two centuries.

According to Kingston’s Economic Development Corporation, the university is the biggest public sector employer in the city, employing more than 9,000 people.

— with files from Darryn Davis and Fawwaz Muhammad-Yusuf 

2:16 Student concern continues amid Queen’s University financial woes