CUPE Local 1975 concerned about potential contracting out at the U of S

SASKATOON: CUPE Local 1975 is concerned that the University of Saskatchewan’s interest in negotiating an incentivized exit with union employees may lead to contracting out of key university services.

“Under the current collective agreement, the employer is prohibited from contracting out our work as a result of layoffs,” said Craig Hannah, president of CUPE Local 1975. “We believe that incentivized exits should provide the same assurance, but the university has yet to provide us with that assurance.”

Privatization may seem like a quick way to save money, but other jurisdictions and institutions are steadily contracting services back in house to save money and improve quality, including the University of Toronto, which just took over responsibility for food services at its downtown campus.

“We are very open to more conversations on this topic, but we need assurance from the university that the services we provide are going to be protected,” added Hannah.

 In the recent budget, the Sask Party government announced a 5.6 per cent reduction in funding for the University of Saskatchewan. The government is also requiring the University of Saskatchewan to provide $20 million from its base budget to support the College of Medicine.

“We understand the university is in a tough financial spot, but it is important to remember that this is a direct result of the provincial government’s austerity budget,” said Hannah. “The government reversed its funding cuts to libraries, and I hope it will come to its senses and restore funding to our province’s world recognized post-secondary institutions.”

CUPE Local 1975 represents 2,000 workers at the University of Saskatchewan who work in food services, trades, security, clerical support, the library, grounds keeping and landscaping, and caretaking.

For more information, please contact:

Tria Donaldson, CUPE communications representative, at 306.531.6247.

You may have heard that the University of Saskatchewan expressed an interest in negotiating a program for incentivized exit with CUPE Local 1975.                                                                                      

While the executive understands this would be an enticing benefit for some of our members who are close to retirement, we are very concerned that the Employer would not agree to include language that would prohibit them from contracting out the positions of our members who would qualify for the incentivized exit program.

In Article 4.8 of the collective agreement between CUPE Local 1975 and the University of Saskatchewan, the employer is prohibited from contracting out our work as a result of layoffs.  We believe the incentivized exit has to provide that same assurance, and as such, we recommended adding a clause to the proposed Memorandum of Agreement which would provide us assurance that contracting out would not be a result of the incentivized exit Memorandum of Agreement.

The University of Saskatchewan would not agree to provide us with those assurances.  Therefore, we are left with no recourse but to reject the proposed Memorandum of Agreement at this time.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the office at 306.966.7015.

In solidarity,

Craig Hannah, President CUPE 1975

The Union has begun Interest Based Bargaining with the Employer.

Meetings will take place Thursday May 11th and 12th.

National Day of Mourning 2017