Photo: KTW File

While no major layoffs have been announced at Thompson Rivers University, two unions say that doesn't mean teachers and workers aren't already losing their jobs as the university scrambles to deal with an unprecedented drop in revenue.

Federal policy changes have caused TRU's international enrolment to drop by hundreds in the fall and winter semesters, forcing the university to reduce spending by millions to balance next year's budget.

In a statement to Castanet Kamloops, TRU said during a virtual budget sustainability forum, its faculty and staff heard discussions about the expected impacts of declining international enrolment, the university’s financial outlook and measures to align operations with projected student numbers.

“As part of these discussions, it was noted that with enrolment levels returning to those seen in past years, TRU will need to adjust its workforce accordingly,” the statement reads.

Last month, TRU’s board of governors heard enrolment was expected to fall to 2017-18 levels by 2030.

“No decisions have been made regarding changes to faculty or ongoing staff positions," the TRU statement said.

Jobs, work lost

Lois Rugg, president of CUPE 4879, which represents support staff at TRU, said the union has already seen some job losses as a result of cost-saving measures.

“It's kind of reductions in their restructuring, so they're changing what work they may want to do. So it's related,” Rugg said.

“I think fairly they could probably say that it wasn't specifically related to that, but we know it is — but it is officially ‘no.’”

She said three CUPE support staff have so far lost their jobs.

Tara Lyster, TRU Faculty Association president, said faculty haven’t seen permanent jobs cut, but some contract instructors have lost their jobs.

“I'm already hearing from chairs of faculty that because of decreased student enrolment, there isn't the number of students to teach and then therefore you don't need as much faculty,” Lyster said.

“So when we're talking about job loss not having happened, I think we can't do that without acknowledging that there are people losing their jobs, or at least their work — it's just not the permanent regular faculty or staff.”

As of last January, sessional and university instructor teaching loads were planned to drop by $730,000.

Concern and worry

Rugg said union members are feeling uncertain and worried they might be impacted by reductions.

“We have been kind of preparing for it, but every institution is dealing with it slightly different,” she said. “We just don't know what the total impact will be at this particular institution.”

She said she thought the university was trying to “reduce the impact” by focusing on other cost-saving measures, and no early retirement incentive plan is currently being offered.

Lyster said there was concern among faculty about what reductions will look like and how faculty will be involved in determining which programs might be adjusted or closed.

She said TRUFA’s collective agreement has language that discusses how those processes should play out.

“We have language on financial exigency and program reduction, and both of those articles outline quite clearly the steps that need to be taken to decrease the workforce for either of those reasons,” Lyster said.

“We hope that TRU engages with us as soon as possible to start those conversations, so that we are not reactive — we're being proactive.”

In its statement, TRU said it would continue “to work closely with employee groups and stakeholders to ensure a thoughtful and strategic approach to financial sustainability.”

Cutting vacant jobs

TRU said it is prioritizing vacancy management and other cost-saving strategies before cutting its workforce.

There are approximately 129 vacancies at TRU and the university is planning for a one-time $9.3 million “vacancy discount” to balance next year’s budget.

TRU has initiated strategic hiring restrictions, although some hiring is still happening in “essential and high-growth areas.”

The board of governors heard last month that the university hopes "to get all of our faculty, schools and departments to a place where we can actually balance this budget in an ongoing way for '28-29.”

“In 2017 we had concerns about our financial sustainability, and then the international boom happened, grew to our highest point in 23-24 and literally, almost overnight, we're back to 2017-18 levels,” Matt Milovick, VP of finance and administration, said at the meeting.

TRU’s international enrolment target is 2,800 students, down from 4,000 before the policy changes.