Contract Worker Justice
Remembering Kulbir Kaila
November 10, 2025Interview and translations by: Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer Written by: Petra Chase, Features Editor Kulbir Kaila worked at SFU for 17 years. On July 28, she died at the age of 61 while working a cleaning shift on the Burnaby campus. Many of her co-workers never knew SFU without Kaila. She had one son, who visited her twice a week at her home in Surrey. Her coworkers said she was funny, hardworking, caring, and deeply valued her friendships and family. She visited her brother and sister often. Her brother, Hardeep Johal, remembers Kaila for her big heart. “She was very…
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SFU cleaning worker dies during shift, amplifying long-standing calls to improve working conditions
November 10, 2025By: Hannah Fraser, News Editor (writer and interviewer), and Ashima Shukla, Staff Writer (interviewer and translator) Since 2020, Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) @SFU has been leading the push for better working conditions at the university. At the heart of the…
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CWJ hosts rally to continue pushing for in-house food and cleaning contracts
January 20, 2025By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer Content warning: mentions of racism and worker abuse. SFU has contracts with Best Service Pros and Chartwells Canada for cleaning and dining services respectively. Some groups, however, are hoping to change this. The Peak spoke with…
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Tackling gender equity in academic sciences
March 31, 2023By: Aditi Dwivedi, News Writer On January 12, SFU Sci-Space conducted a workshop to help interested students start discourse about the conditions of gender equity and inclusion in the academic sciences, and the changes they want to see in their…
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SFU commits to offering a living wage to entire SFU community
September 10, 2022By: Pranjali J Mann, News Writer This month, the SFU Board of Governors passed a motion to begin the certification process for becoming a living wage employer. According to Living Wage for Families BC, living wage is calculated by providing…
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SFU food workers rally for a living wage
March 28, 2022By: Karissa Ketter, News Writer The negotiation period for the new SFU food workers contract with Chartwells has begun since their contract ended on October 30, 2021. SFU food workers are wearing red buttons on their uniforms that read “Living Wage,”…
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Contract Worker Justice releases report on poor working conditions at SFU
February 14, 2022By: Karissa Ketter, News Writer The Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) group has been pushing SFU to hire their cleaning and food services workers in-house. They recently wrote a report detailing the poor working conditions of these workers and presented it to…
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Contract Worker Justice critical of SFU’s new social procurement guide
February 7, 2022By: Karissa Ketter, News Writer SFU has developed a new social procurement guide designed to “drive positive social change throughout their procurement activities,” according to their website. Social procurement involves SFU purchasing ethical goods and contracting services to influence the…
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Contract Worker Justice campaign express concerns about SFU hiring Deloitte
November 20, 2021By: Kelly Chia, Staff Writer On September 10, 2021, president Joy Johnson announced SFU has hired Deloitte to analyze in-house versus contract-sourced food service and cleaning options for SFU. In response, the Contract Worker Justice (CWJ) released a press release…
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Contract Worker Justice campaign seeks progress after meeting with SFU president
May 18, 2021Written by: Karissa Ketter, News Writer SFU currently hires their food and cleaning service workers through the third-party company Chartwells Canada. It has been a month since the Contract Worker Justice campaign sent an open letter to president Joy Johnson…
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