ASPA boss optimistic layoffs can be avoided

The head of a union representing about 1,100 administrative staff at the University of Saskatchewan expects the cash-strapped institution to accept most, if not all, of the 78 applications for voluntary buyout packages it received after announcing plans to reduce its compensation costs this year.

Administrative and Supervisory Personnel Association (ASPA) president Peter Krebs said while the U of S has not outlined its costcutting targets in response to the Saskatchewan Party government’s 2017-18 austerity budget, he hopes the higher-than-expected number of applications will prevent any staff from getting pink slips.

“Maybe the 78 departures will put the university close to the target, or maybe even beyond it, (but) I don’t really know what to expect there,” said Krebs, who last month explained that while the ASPA agreed to the proffered buyout program to stave off layoffs, he expects more reductions — a move the university has not ruled out.

The U of S is happy with the fact that it received around 100 buyout applications — the package was also offered to some non-unionized staff — but the “very decentralized nature” of its cost-cutting measures mean it’s too soon to tell whether involuntary layoffs will be necessary, said Cheryl Carver, the university’s head of human resources.

“These programs are one aspect of the (cost-cutting) strategies that are being implemented, so further layoffs are going to have to take into account more than just the outcomes of this program,” Carver said, noting that the applications are still being reviewed and a clearer picture is expected to emerge in the fall.

That will be almost six months after the university began responding to an instruction from Advanced Education Minister Bronwyn Eyre that it “consider ways in which (it) might reduce costs” following an $18-million (five per cent) reduction to its $312-million operating grant in the March 22 provincial budget.

In addition to slashing $12.2 million allocated for programs and services, pledging to reduce the salaries of 75 senior administrators, closing its Centre for Northern Governance and Development and offering buyouts to ASPA members, the university has offered some members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1975 a chance at “early retirement.”

Craig Hannah, president of the union local, said in a text message that members have until the end of the month to submit their applications. Carver said while about 350 members of the union are eligible for the early retirement package, the number of applications won’t be known until the July 31 deadline.

Late last month, the university’s board of governors approved the institution’s 2017-18 budget — which includes a $16.7-million deficit. U of S president Peter Stoicheff described the financial situation as “unsustainable,” and a news release noted that “other (costcutting) initiatives are planned.”