Latest news with #OPSEULocal238
CTV News
09-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Some Conestoga College campuses switching to four-day week for the summer semester
Conestoga College's campus on Frederick Street in Kitchener, Ont. was photographed on April 16, 2025. (Dan Lauckner/CTV News) Conestoga College says some of its campuses will be moving to a four-day week for its summer semester. The school did not explain what prompted the decision but touted the benefits to both students and the college. 'Student timetables have been developed so that our students are able to benefit, as much as possible, from four-day schedules,' they said in a statement emailed to CTV News. 'This initiative offers flexibility to students who may have summer jobs, creates operational efficiencies while our campuses are a little quieter over the summer months, and supports our sustainability measures.' Specifically, they cited a decrease in the use of air conditioning. 'Sustainability is a key priority for the college and reducing HVAC usage over the summer helps us meet our carbon reduction goals,' the school explained. Conestoga College did not make anyone available for an interview. A list of affected locations can be found below. Reaction to new international student rules The shorter weeks are just the latest move by Conestoga College after Ottawa placed new limits on international student enrollment in Canada. In December 2024, the school offered early retirement packages to 54 support staff and 106 faculty members. According to Vikki Poirier, president of OPSEU Local 238, all of them were over 50 years of age and had more than 10 of service at the college. Another 180 support workers were laid off or were reassigned on March 28. An internal memo, by Conestoga College president John Tibbits which was shared with CTV News, cited the federal government's decision to implement a cap on international student enrolment and other unnamed 'changes' that have created a perception that Canada 'is no longer a welcoming country for international education.' College surplus On the same day those layoffs were announced, the Ontario Sunshine List was released for 2024. It named the public sector workers making more than $100,000 a year. Tibbits had the highest public salary in the Region of Waterloo with a salary of $636,106.70 and $3,898.71 in taxable benefits. His income topped the regional chair, regional mayors, the presidents of the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, both the public and Catholic school board directors, the president and CEO of Grand River Hospital and the chief of Waterloo Regional Police. Conestoga College announced on March 13 it would be extending Tibbits' contract to Dec. 31, 2026. Last July, the school reported a surplus of $251,646,838. According to financial documents, that was nearly double its surplus of $106,220,863 in 2023. Campuses affected by closures Brantford 1 and 50 Wellington Street closed Mondays Cambridge Not affected Guelph (Speedvale Avenue) Not affected Guelph (Riverside Glen) Not affected Ingersoll Closed on Mondays Kitchener ATS Engineering Complex closed Mondays Transition Classroom Building closed Mondays Therapeutic Sciences Building closed Mondays Toyota Power Engineering Centre closed Fridays Downtown (49 Frederick Street) closed on Mondays Milton Parkhill Drive closed on Mondays Steeles Avenue closed on Mondays Stratford Not affected Waterloo Not affected More details can be found on the college's website.
CBC
03-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
'A lot of fear, there's a lot of anxiety' for staff at Conestoga College as layoffs loom, union reps say
Social Sharing Support staff at Conestoga College have been told they can expect layoffs in the near future, causing a lot of fear and anxiety, union representatives say. Vikki Poirier, president of OPSEU Local 238 which represents support staff at the college, says they've been holding information sessions for employees knowing other colleges are cutting jobs. Colleges across the province say they have to lay off staff due to international student caps, which are cutting into their budgets. Conestoga College, for instance, saw their intake of international students cut by 50 per cent. On Friday, two OPSEU locals received notice from Conestoga College that it intended to reduce the number of support staff. On Monday, an internal memo went out to staff. "There's a lot of fear, there's a lot of anxiety, a lot of uncertainty," Poirier said in an interview on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris. Now, they've now entered a confidential process with the college, and Poirier says they're doing their best to reassure and help workers. "We're educating members so they're aware of the process. There's misconceptions and misunderstandings. So I don't want to provide inaccurate or unrealistic expectations to them," she said. Leopold Koff is president of OPSEU Local 237 which represents faculty, counselors and librarians and which also received notice from the college of the intention to reduce staff. He says this is a time when colleges in Ontario should be investing in what they do, not cutting staff. "With the Trump tariff wars about to happen and underway, the colleges are in a unique position to be able to give the flexibility and diversity of training and retraining to make our economy and the people and the workers and the employers more flexible and resilient to these tariff wars," he said. "What the college is doing now is the reverse in terms of reduction of qualified, experienced faculty and administrators and not utilizing the hundreds of millions of dollars they have in cash reserves to maintain the stable basis of the colleges and especially Conestoga." Conestoga College's spokesperson Brenda Bereczki said the internal memo sent on Monday "stated that discussions with the support staff union over the coming weeks are confidential as outlined in the collective agreement." More information is expected to be shared in the next few weeks, she said. The news of layoffs comes as the college continues plans to expand in Stratford and Guelph and after the province's Sunshine List, released last week, showed Conestoga president John Tibbits was paid $640,005 in 2024, up from $494,716 in 2023. Poirier says she hopes the college remembers that the support staff her local represents are needed by Conestoga. They are the "foundation of the college that keeps the college going, keeps the programs going so the faculty can work and that the managers can manage them," she said. And Koff says the provincial government could do more to save jobs at the colleges. "I believe that this is an opportunity for the premier to step up and invest in our colleges," Koff said. "The colleges can turn and pivot. They can provide training and retraining to quote provide to the industry that and our businesses in Canada, Ontario, so that we can compete and be independent and flexible and compete with the world and act independent from the U.S. going forward. The colleges are the secret weapon we have. We should utilize it."
