By: Michelle Young, Copy Editor

This summer, SFU laid off nearly 100 staff and eliminated positions citing budget concerns. Some of those positions included administrative staff, such as jobs in Student Services — including positions in SFU Health and Counselling and Work Integrated Learning. These layoffs also included instructors and custodial workers. 

The Peak received an anonymous tip alleging that many of those laid off were either on or returning from medical leave, and those impacted were disproportionately women close to retirement. The Peak reached out to the Administrative and Professional Staff Association (APSA), which represents admin staff at SFU, for more information. 

Lakshmi Gosyne, APSA associate director, communications explained that within two days, 36 positions represented by APSA were eliminated, out of the near 100. “Some of these members were either on some sort of medical leave and/or maternity leave,” she explained. “Others had recently returned from a medical leave or had a medical leave of absence and returned to work within the last year.” Gosyne added that of those who are represented by APSA, who were on leave or returning from one, made up around 36% of those laid off. 

APSA found that most — 77% — of those laid off were women. Their analysis also showed that those who were over the age of 55 or a visible minority made up between 30–40% of the layoffs. Gosyne added she “can’t underscore enough that there were so many other Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) staff who also appear to be disproportionately immigrants, people of colour, or vulnerable persons.” CUPE staff refers to workers such as cleaning staff, who are represented by CUPE. 

“The reduction in essential services such as academic advising, co-op support, and health and counselling services directly undermines the quality of education and support that SFU has a duty to provide.” — Simon Fraser Student Society

On June 10, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) released a statement saying the layoffs “represent a significant erosion of the support structures that enhance our learning environment. The reduction in essential services such as academic advising, co-op support, and health and counselling services directly undermines the quality of education and support that SFU has a duty to provide.” Gosyne added that the administrative team was “concerned about the faculty, students, and other staff who would suddenly not have access to important resources.”

She explained that APSA and SFU have “been in negotiations since May” on behalf of the laid-off workers. Issues, such as extended health benefits, and maternity and medical leave are being slowly resolved. Some of the negotiations have been fruitful, she explained, with SFU Labour Relations extending a “tuition waiver to the children of these affected members for one year, with the caveat being that they are enrolled either in the summer or fall semesters.” However, Gosyne added, “It’s been a difficult process which sometimes has not resulted in any improvements for our members, but we continue with this task in the hope that our members will be properly compensated for their work and dedication to SFU.” 

Gosyne also said “there has been a lack of transparency and a top-down approach to a lot of the SFU budget decisions, including the decision to eliminate a number of TSSU, CUPE and APSA positions.” TSSU, or the Teaching Support Staff Union represents teaching assistants, sessional instructors, and other teaching staff. The SFSS called on “the SFU administration to provide greater transparency regarding the decision-making process that led to these layoffs,” and asked for “a clear and detailed explanation of the criteria used for these decisions and how they align with the university’s long-term strategic goals.” 

“I can’t adequately describe how dehumanizing this entire process has felt for these folks. Many of these employees have been working for SFU for 10, 15, or 20+ years,” Gosyne said.

She added that staff were called into a meeting and “were not told that the scheduled meeting was a position elimination; they were not allowed to ask questions, or if they did, they were refused answers.” She added that staff were only given budget cuts as the reason for their position being eliminated, but “some of these positions were crucial to the department and likely student life.”

“I can’t adequately describe how dehumanizing this entire process has felt for these folks. Many of these employees have been working for SFU for 10, 15, or 20+ years.” — Lakshmi Gosyne, Associate Director, communications at Administrative and Professional Staff Association

The Peak reached out to SFU inquiring about their decision-making process, the demographics of the overall administrative staff, and the overlap between the positions eliminated and the staff who were on leave. SFU responded with a statement citing budget challenges: “Declining international student enrollment has had an impact on our financial situation, as have other cost pressures such as inflation. Information about this situation and actions the university has been taking have been communicated regularly and widely across our community this past winter and spring.” 

In their statement, the SFSS said, “We emphasize that it is the university’s responsibility, not the student society’s, to ensure the provision of critical services that support our academic journey.” 

Gosyne explained, “If the university worked with these employee groups and their members, consulted with us in a meaningful way and allowed us to consult with our members, we would have been able to create a better way to support the university with its budget issues. Instead, the layoffs that happened in May and the subsequent announcement of hiring APEX positions make many affected members question if a budget was really the reason these positions were eliminated in the first place.” 

In a statement to The Peak, SFU explained that APEX staff refer to Administrative Professional Excluded Staff and are administrative employees who are not a part of APSA “due to the nature of their work.” They added, “This group includes members of the executive, senior leaders, human resources, legal, Board office roles and other roles that may put an employee in a conflict of interest between their duties and their affiliation with an employee group.” Out of the 37 roles open, five are APEX positions. 

This is a ongoing story that The Peak will continue to cover.