All layoff notices issued this week will come into effect in March, about a month before the end of the college\u2019s winter term.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re taking care of [our members]. We’re going to support them,\u201d Leopold Koff, the president of OPSEU Local 237, the union representing faculty at the college, told CBC K-W’s The Morning Edition host Craig Norris on Friday. \u201cWithout us, there is no college.\u201d<\/p>\n
Koff was originally among the faculty whose jobs were affected by Conestoga\u2019s program suspensions<\/a>, but with his \u201cseniority and other skills and competencies,\u201d he was \u201cgiven an\u00a0involuntary transfer to another program.\u201d<\/p>\n Two town halls were held separately by Local 237 and Local 238 on Thursday.<\/p>\n Local 238 had a virtual meeting early Thursday afternoon where the layoffs to support staff were announced.<\/p>\n Local 237 held its own town hall later in the afternoon. It was to provide full-time faculty affected by the layoffs \u201csupport mechanisms, structures on how to do grievances, how to take care of themselves, [and] counseling services.\u201d<\/p>\n Vikki Poirier is the president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 238, the union representing support staff at the college. She’s among the employees who received a layoff notice on Thursday. (John Dalusong\/CBC News)<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s devastating,\u2019 staff member says<\/p>\n Vikki Poirier is the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 238, representing Conestoga’s support staff.<\/p>\n She also joined CBC K-W’s The Morning Edition on Friday and said the Thursday meeting with the college was one-sided.<\/p>\n \u201cWe couldn’t speak. We couldn’t ask questions. Our video wasn’t on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the human resources reading from a script,” she added. \u201cIt’s devastating.”<\/p>\n Unlike Koff who was moved to another position, Poirier was not. She is one of the 197 support staff who received a layoff notice.<\/p>\n Poirier was among the hundreds of Conestoga support staff who went on a five-week strike in September<\/a> after the College Employer Council (CEC) and OPSEU failed to reach a collective agreement.<\/p>\n After more than a month on the picket line, CEC and OPSEU reached a tentative deal<\/a>, promptly ending the strike.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just can’t seem to catch a break,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd to not have the college president, the leader of the college, attend and deliver that message to his employees, in my opinion, was rather cowardly.\u201d<\/p>\n Poirier said affected positions include librarians and student success advisers, services that she said students might no longer receive.<\/p>\n Need to ‘align resources,’ college says<\/p>\n CBC News reached out to Conestoga College for comments on how the layoffs will affect program courses and student services.<\/p>\n They did not address the questions, but did say the decision was ” not taken lightly and reflect our responsibility to align resources and ensure long-term sustainability.”<\/p>\n “Like all 24 publicly funded colleges in Ontario, Conestoga is required by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities to present a balanced budget each year,” a Conestoga College representative told CBC News in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n “Without significant reductions in operating costs, the college faces a fiscal deficit. To achieve a balanced budget, we must align our resources with the reality that we have lost thousands of international students and will likely continue to be impacted, given the recent announcement of further reductions to international student caps for 2026-2028,” the statement further explained.<\/p>\n “Simply put, we no longer require the same complement of faculty, staff and administrators as in 2024.”<\/p>\n In August, Conestoga College has reported a $121 million surplus<\/a> in its 2024-2025 fiscal year.<\/p>\n Conestoga College’s associate director of corporate communications Erika Kastner told CBC News in August that the surplus was a “result of careful planning and responsible financial management.”<\/p>\n![\"VIKKI](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/96b3084ebbcebdc9284ee129c54cb944.jpeg\"\/)
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