PV staff
Five unions representing workers at McGill University have issued a joint statement condemning the university’s recent announcement of layoffs and broader policy of austerity in the face of supposed budget shortfalls.
The unions are arguing that McGill is trying to make workers bear the brunt of its budget shortfalls while protecting highly paid executives in senior administration.
“McGill Senior Administration has claimed that they have a budget shortfall of $45 million projected for 2025-26 and that staffing accounts for 80 percent of overall university expenses,” says the union statement. “What they fail to mention is that over 17 percent of McGill’s salary budget was spent on executive and management staff as of the 2023-24 financial year. In 2013-14, this figure was 9 percent. If McGill’s executive and managerial salary mass had risen at the same rate as all other job classes at the university, the university would be saving $71 million.”
The university also appears to be staggering the layoffs in order to minimize the legal notice period. “Initially, McGill Senior Administration said a loss of 350-500 jobs would be necessary. Now they are announcing 99 initial layoffs. Conveniently, 99 is exactly the threshold for the minimum 8 weeks of notice under Quebec law regulating collective dismissal. For the dismissal of 100-299 workers, a notice period of 12 weeks is required; for over 300, a notice period of 16 weeks is required. How can we trust that there will be no further layoffs?”
McGill has hired consultant group NousCubane, which has handled layoffs at other universities in Canada. The university paid NousCubane $372,500 to send “consultation” surveys to all full-time employees. This occurred before the cuts were announced on February 7, and without involvement of the unions.
In doing so, the unions contend that McGill Administration infringed on Article 12 of the Quebec Labour Code which states that “No employer, or person acting for an employer or an association of employers, shall in any manner seek to dominate, hinder or finance the formation or the activities of any association of employees, or to participate therein.”
The union group is also asking questions about McGill’s insistence that a shortfall of $45 million shortfall requires cutting up to 500 staff. “Are McGill’s executives and managers taking any salary cuts to do their part in keeping the university solvent? Are they reviewing their own positions and compensation packages with the same scrutiny they offer to the rest of us? Why do they judge themselves more necessary than the employees doing the on-the-ground work vital to the continued operations of our university? McGill’s global profile and prestige does not come from its executives. It comes from the achievements of workers, students and alumni.”
The five unions say that McGill’s senior administration needs to acknowledge their role in McGill’s current budgetary crisis and take action accordingly, and they are calling for a moratorium on job cuts until there is a freeze and cut on executive salaries.
The statement is jointly signed by the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE), the Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM), the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE), and the Service Employees’ Union (SEU).
Support working-class media!
If you found this article useful, please consider donating to People’s Voice or purchasing a subscription so that you get every issue of Canada’s leading socialist publication delivered to your door or inbox!
For over 100 years, we have been 100% reader-supported, with no corporate or government funding.
