University of Windsor students fight back against job cuts, service reductions amid budget crisis

Rajpreet Sahota · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 8:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

More than 150 students, unit and module members marched the streets adjacent the University of Windsor Tuesday greeting to protestation caller occupation cuts and work changes astatine the school. 

The radical met extracurricular the Chrysler Building earlier marching to the bureau of President and Vice-Chancellor Robert Gordon, to dependable their concerns.

It comes aft the assemblage announced plans to streamline services and merge respective administrative enactment functions. 

The changes see consolidating IT/AV method support, communications, advancement and different departments, the assemblage said successful a missive shared with the field assemblage successful aboriginal March.

"Significant" occupation cuts are expected for unionized staff, including members of CUPE 1393 and the Unifor 2458 full- and part-time bureau and clerical unit groups, the missive noted. 

Sean O'Neil, president of the Communication Students' Association and co-organizer of the demonstration, said the changes would importantly impact students. 

"They're cutting down a batch of the secretaries… truthful that means that the quality to pass with our departments, pass among antithetic pupil groups, that's each being limited," O'Neil said. 

He added that the cuts were peculiarly concerning for students successful the module of arts, humanities and societal sciences, wherever the fig of secretarial positions is being reduced from astir 30 to conscionable 10. 

"They're cutting contracts with limited-time professors meaning that little courses are being offered, little varieties being offered wrong our departments. We're losing a batch of resources," helium said. "Some of our departments can't adjacent enrol archetypal years adjacent year."

Earlier this twelvemonth the assemblage announced it would intermission admissions to its play program. 

O'Neil says helium feels the assemblage medication has been quiescent astir the interaction of their decision. 

"There's been nary nonstop communications with students astir however these changes volition impact america and nary information taken, nary opinions being surveyed, thing similar that. So it's hard to spot however they're taking students into information with these changes," helium said.

The assemblage said successful a connection it is prioritizing world excellence and pupil experience. 

"The full assemblage community—including students—has been invited to assistance place opportunities to amended ratio and trim costs," a spokesperson said via email. 

According to the university, determination volition beryllium a nett simplification of 27 positions wrong CUPE 1393, considering caller positions added and vacant positions. There volition besides beryllium a simplification of 48 positions wrong Unifor 2458 successful afloat and part-time staff. 

Kristen Siapas, president of CUPE 1393 and communications coordinator with the university's bureau of experiential learning, was among those impacted by the occupation cuts. 

"I was conscionable notified that my presumption is being eliminated," Siapas said. "It's my 2nd elimination announcement successful the past 12 months."

Siapas antecedently had her occupation eliminated with the closure of the University Players, the university's theatre accumulation arm, past summer. 

"There conscionable has been nary forethought to however hard it's going to beryllium to instrumentality the centralization and however analyzable it's going to beryllium to effort and mitigate that interaction connected those students," she said.

She besides questioned the university's determination to absorption connected unit reductions alternatively than exploring alternate cost-saving measures. 

In a statement, the University of Windsor acknowledged the protests but reiterated the necessity of the changes. 

"Like galore universities crossed Canada, the University of Windsor is navigating fiscal challenges and making hard decisions to guarantee semipermanent sustainability," said a spokesperson.

President Robert Gordon besides addressed the concern the missive sent retired past week, explaining that the assemblage is facing a projected $30 cardinal shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year. 

"Throughout the process, we person prioritized our world ngo and the pupil experience… I privation to guarantee you that the assemblage is committed to addressing its fiscal challenges thoughtfully portion maintaining the prime of education, services and the pupil experience," Gordon said.

O'Neil emphasized that the extremity of the objection was to guarantee the assemblage medication heard their concerns. 

"We privation to marque definite that we're listening and we're proceeding what the president's bureau is saying and what the assemblage medication is saying successful effect to this," helium said. "And from there, we'll find and fig retired the adjacent steps."