Update on Layoffs

Hello Colleagues,

This is a brief update on the situation around the layoffs.

Over the past two weeks, the KFA presented our positions and our arguments regarding the overall situation with regard to the layoffs, and for each individual case for each member who was issued layoff notice.

I am sorry to report that the Employer appears not to be budging in their positions, though we remain hopeful that some more of the layoffs will yet be rescinded. We have received today the first few of the responses at Step 1, and they have not relented at all. Their summary is as follows:

In conclusion, while the Union has expressed disagreement with the decision to lay off faculty and the broader implications of doing so, the Employer maintains that decisions regarding section planning, layoffs, and resource allocation fall within its management rights under Article 2.01. Ultimately, the Employer has made the difficult decision to proceed with layoffs as a result of the impacts of the decline in international student enrolment, and the Employer’s position is that this is a reasonable and justified decision. The Employer has provided the Union with a significant amount of detailed enrollment and financial information to allow for a clear understanding of the necessity for the University to proceed with laying off faculty.

To summarize, the KFA has grieved the actions of the Employer in undertaking the layoffs as we argue the rationale provided is insufficient and not properly supported to indicate there is any kind of fiscal difficulty or financial crisis in the institution as a result of international enrollments being decreased.

The layoffs are a choice, not a necessity. This is even more clear now.

Fiscal Year Surplus

The Board update on the last fiscal year was, in fact, that there is an even higher surplus than was projected. The surplus for the fiscal year ending 2025, was $13.4M. There is no financial rationale to lay off faculty regardless of declines in international enrollments.

The Employer also indicated that they are seeking to return to approximately 2018 or 2019 staffing levels in a number of staff areas including Facilities and IT. From what we can ascertain, it appears they are reducing faculty FTE levels to pre-2018 FTE.

But at the same time, administrative FTE levels are already at their highest levels ever, and with the planned increase which is still at $5M in filling currently empty positions, and $2.6M in new positions, the ratio of faculty FTE to administrative FTE will be less than 3 faculty FTE per administrator. 

Fill Rates

They are also using maximum class sizes, or 100% fill rates, as the baseline for determining layoffs, or in other words, they are basing layoff decisions on projecting a requirement for 100% fill rates which are vanishingly rare in real terms.

This is of particular concern, first because of the way the layoffs have been targeted. The last Ministry mandate letter, as well as more recent directives to public post-secondary institutions, explicitly require institutions to maintain international enrollments at or below 30%. KPU will be unable to achieve anywhere approaching 30% if all of the layoffs and section cuts go forward because as it is now clear to us after having gathered our own enrollment data, they are reducing many of the areas in the institution that have the highest ongoing international enrollments. These actions make no sense if the goal is to maintain international enrollments at close to 30%.

They also make no sense given the reality that for many years now, all faculty salary increases have been fully funded within the government grant, since the outset of the provincial bargaining mandate, about 20 years ago.

Considerations that Appear to have been Ignored

And all of this is not even taking into consideration the overall impact on the departments’ and the institution’s ability to maintain programs such that students are able to fill their course loads efficiently and complete credentials within a reasonable period.

It is also not taking into account the deep losses to departments and the institution as a result of the planned layoffs and the loss of the many contributions all of the members are making towards service and development and all of the activities that faculty participate in.

The Grievances

To return to the ongoing grievances, there are many specific violations of the Collective Agreement Language under Article 7, and we are actively pursuing all of them, including violations in the layoffs themselves given the lack of rationale, the issuing of notices en masse, and so on. We believe there are also errors being made in the calculation of severance for part-time faculty, and the calculation of severance offers under the Targeted Labour Adjustments, amongst other errors. We are actively seeking the correction of all of these.

The Employer is also violating the terms of Article 13.07 Maternity and Parental Leaves in a variety of ways, including issuing notice to members on maternity leave, and issuing notice they will cut off their SEB payments and benefits during their maternity or parental leave. We say this is clearly in violation of the terms of the Collective Agreement as well as Human Rights legislation and well-established case law. We are seeking the correction of all of these, too.

In closing, I wish I had much better news to share.

But I want to emphasize this: I believe we should all remain hopeful that we can yet see a correction of the situation.

We will continue to press the Employer to do so.

In solidarity,

Diane.