Faculty association decries possible post-secondary cuts
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/04/2020 (2056 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Brandon University Faculty Association came out against proposed cuts to post-secondary institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
All publicly funded institutions in Manitoba were required to submit a plan for potential cuts up to 30 per cent of their operating budget to help reduce costs by end of day Tuesday.
In the statement, the association said that cuts at Brandon University up to 15 per cent of the institution’s budget would lead to rotating days off for faculty similar to the infamous Filmon Fridays scheme in the 1990s.
They wrote that cuts approaching the 20 to 30 per cent threshold would likely require the university to shut down. As the Sun reported on Tuesday, the president of the Manitoba Organization of Faculty Associations Scott Foster also believed that a cut of that magnitude would lead to the university’s closure or downgrading to a two-year college.
The faculty association also wrote that they, along with other public-sector unions, don’t believe that the province would redirect funds saved through these cost-cutting measures to front-line health-care initiatives as the province is suggesting.
“We fear that the Pallister government is simply using the current crisis to further its assault on public sector unions and deal with an economy that has struggled under their leadership since they took office,” the statement said. “While the pandemic will ultimately end at some point, the impact on post-secondary institutions could be devastating.”
The statement concluded with the association arguing that cuts to employment like these will only result in a reduction in the amount of money workers can put back into the economy by spending.
There are 250 members represented by the Brandon University Faculty Association.
» The Brandon Sun