The president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 125 believes looming layoffs at Lambton College are "an attempt to destabilize the local academic and support bargaining units."
In a news release, Michelle Arbour said faculty members are "still reeling" after Lambton College President and CEO Rob Kardas said roughly 20 to 25 per cent of the school's workforce will likely be impacted by job cuts as international student enrolment drops.
She questions whether layoffs would even address the current fiscal impact of enrolment fluctuations.
"If we're looking at efficiencies across the college, then we need to look at management bloat and ballooning executive salaries," said Arbour. "Faculty and staff are on the front lines of education, working with students, doing the work that is at the core of the college’s mission. They shouldn’t be the ones to bear the brunt of these cuts -- especially when the crisis we’re facing is due in part to mismanagement of the colleges."
Arbour said since the federal government first announced caps to international student admissions in January 2024, three faculty have exited the college and not been replaced.
She said 40 permanent support staff positions (represented by Local 124) have also been lost.
Arbour said it remains unclear if these numbers will be included in the possible job reductions announced last month.
She said employee salaries across all staffing categories are the largest college expenditure, and she claims executive salaries have steadily climbed in recent years while faculty salaries have remained largely the same.
Arbour said in the past decade, the college system as a whole has added 1500 administrators but only 500 full-time faculty.
She said it's unclear if management salaries at Lambton will be reduced to reflect the percentage reduction in staffing at this time.