By: Hannah Fraser, News Writer
On April 10, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) @SFU hosted a rally at Convocation Mall to demand the restoration of cleaning services and reinstatement of SFU’s contract cleaning workers. They were laid off by Best Service Pros (BEST) due to SFU’s recent reduction of cleaning services. BEST said they let them go due to “changing business needs.” The layoffs will take place starting May 17.
Most of these workers are “racialized, women, elderly, and immigrants” who have been denied better pay, and access to facilities and services like “daycare services, athletic facilities, and tuition reimbursement,” in addition to insufficient breaks, according to CWJ. They say their work at SFU involves “heavy-handed management practices, health and safety concerns, and inadequate equipment.”
“Since the April 10 rally, there has been no movement from SFU’s side toward making any commitments to rehiring laid-off workers and hiring all cleaning workers as direct employees.” — Kabir Madan, Contract Worker Justice member
CWJ said the reason for their continued exploitation as members of the community who are not directly hired is SFU admin’s “refusal to treat contract workers as equal members of the community,” as documented in their 2022 research report. Universities like UBC and UVic directly hire their food and cleaning workers.
The Peak reached out for an interview with Kabir Madan, an SFU graduate student and member of CWJ. He claims SFU administration’s justification for not directly hiring cleaning workers is two-fold: “SFU apparently lacks management expertise, particularly for the night shift,” and “cannot afford the transition costs of moving from a third-party system to insourcing the cleaning staff, as well as the kitchen staff.”
The SFU community called to demand “the reversal of the layoff notices, safer working conditions for cleaning workers, and in-house employment of cleaning and food service workers.” However, according to Madan, SFU admin remains indifferent. “Since the April 10 rally, there has been no movement from SFU’s side toward making any commitments to rehiring laid-off workers and hiring all cleaning workers as direct employees,” he said.
“SFU is led by the university’s values, and decisions are being made with those values in mind, including a continued commitment to becoming a living wage employer,” SFU told The Peak. “However, as the university shared in early March, SFU also needs to restructure certain areas of its operations to increase efficiency and reduce duplication in order to meet a balanced budget.” The university cites the increase of low-traffic areas since the COVID-19 pandemic for the reduction of cleaning services, “particularly in the use of office space where many staff work hybrid schedules. These changes in use of space have reduced the need for certain services, such as the frequency of cleaning in low traffic areas and collection of office waste and recycling.”
According to Madan, “BEST continues to hire people in managerial positions despite having announced the lay-offs.” The Peak was not able to independently verify this claim. Outside the rally that was held, CWJ has been working with CUPE 3338 and the TSSU to involve faculty and the larger student body in their campaign.
For more information on CJW and their campaign, visit their Instagram at @contractworkerjusticesfu.
