MEDIA RELEASE: NSCAD Administrative & Custodial Workers Laid Off

Administrative and Custodial workers at NSCAD learned this morning that they are losing their jobs, as part of the Liberal government’s mandate to balance their budget at any cost. Sixteen of these workers are members of the NSGEU: nine Custodial Workers, six Administrative Assistants and one Clerk.

The employer plans to contract out the work of the Custodial staff and altogether eliminate the Administrative Assistant and Clerk positions. These job losses will lead to a less supportive environment for students, who will now have fewer supporting staff to help them when they need them.

“This government has clearly signaled to university administration that they must put their budget and bottom line before anything else. They’ve essentially handed them a baseball bat, and the administration is taking a swing at these workers,” said NSGEU President Joan Jessome.

“Eliminating and contracting out staff positions that come with decent wages and benefits isn’t good for the workers, local economy, the students, or the overall quality of education NSCAD will be able to offer in the future.”

In both the government-commissioned university consultations last fall and polling done by the Nova Scotia Post-Secondary Education Coalition, it was found that the public actually wants more support for students. Cutting support staff at NSCAD will do the opposite.

Administrative staff members support the students and faculty each day by arranging studio bookings, organizing purchase orders, managing the Departmental budget, booking models for drawing classes, and coordinating room bookings. They must be on-hand to help solve a variety of administrative/studio problems that students encounter throughout the day.

The affected custodial staff members have worked at the university for up to 24 years. They know the complex campus well, and understand how to work with and around the students and the art they create. An art and design university is not an environment conducive to contract custodial work with its characteristic high turnover rates.

“We call on NSCAD administration to reverse these detrimental funding cuts,” said Jessome, “The support students receive from these staff members is vital to their success and essential to a positive experience teaching or studying at NSCAD.”

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The Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union represents over 30,000 women and men who provide quality public services Nova Scotian’s count on every day.

For more information, please contact:

Holly Fraughton, NSGEU Communications Officer

902.424.4063 (office)  

902.471.1781 (cell)

hfraughton@nsgeu.ca