Sixteen layoffs - some temporary, some permanent - are taking place at Medicine Hat College this month, according to the union that represents them.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
The union representing non-academic staff at Medicine Hat College says permanent layoffs are taking place this month along with some temporary job losses, as pandemic measures affect operations.
The Alberta Union of Public Employees states that 16 employees – about 10 per cent of its membership – have been laid off at the post-secondary institution. Five of those are permanent reductions, states a release from the union, as the college absorbs cuts in its budget
“These job losses are the opposite of what Alberta needs right now,” said Bobby-Joe Borodey, a vice-president with AUPE, in a release. “With the pandemic and economic collapse, we need to keep Albertans working, not add them to them long lists of unemployed.”
AUPE states job losses in Alberta’s post-secondary education sector are mounting. Last week the union reported 25 job losses at Calgary-based Bow Valley College, and 131 temporary layoffs at the University of Lethbridge.
The 2020-21 budget reduces some key grants and sets up different system for distributing funds via a new process of comparing institutions.
The drop specific to Medicine Hat College was 1.7 per cent, equalling $540,000, and money for building maintenance and facilities was cut $1.3 million. Medicine Hat College also plans to increase tuition by seven per cent in relation to the 2019-20 budget that was passed last October.
The union said last week that nine full-time and two part-time employees at MHC were laid off due to the pandemic as the institution adjusts to a lower level of activity at its bookstore, food services and library.
Five separate layoffs are considered permanent, affecting positions in conference hosting, the finance office, building services and a technician.
Collective agreements for all non-managerial staff the college are set to expire at the end of June.
About 150 non-academic staff are represented by AUPE, while about 260 instructors and academic staff are represented by the MHC Faculty Association.
