Labour and education in the news
Below are recent news stories on labour and education related issues. Click the headline to be taken to the article. Some may require a subscription. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for article text.
January 24, 2025
‘Enormous’ shoes to fill as Rossmere MLA named education minister
Winnipeg Free Press
The Kinew government has undergone a cabinet shuffle to address the absence of late education minister Nello Altomare.
Tracy Schmidt sworn in as education minister in wake of Nello Altomare's death
CBC
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has made a minor cabinet shuffle following the death of Nello Altomare.
International student visa applications in Ontario will drop in 2025, province says
Globe and Mail
The number of international student visa applications available to Ontario colleges and universities will drop in 2025, according to new figures released by the provincial government.
Union ‘will use every tool available’ to protect Aurora College jobs
Cabin Radio
The Union of Northern Workers says it has filed a grievance and will exhaust all options to stop Aurora College community learning centre staff losing their jobs.
University students lead strike in Serbia as President plans counter-protest
Breakingnews.ie
A student-led strike has closed down businesses and drawn tens of thousands onto the streets throughout Serbia as populist President Aleksandar Vucic planned a big rally to counter persistent anti-government protests that have challenged his authority.
Health staff have bone to pick with government
Winnipeg Free Press
Two new surveys of allied health-care staff and nurses suggest workloads and morale are worse or unchanged for many since the NDP government vowed to make life better for them when it was elected 15 months ago.
Public Health Agency not renewing contracts of over 800 employees, including 245 at Winnipeg lab: union
CBC
The union representing workers with the Public Health Agency of Canada says the federal government is not renewing the contracts of over 800 employees, including at least 245 at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Cape Breton jobs in jeopardy: Immigration department to cut 3,300 positions over next three years
Cape Breton Post
It’s unclear how many employees in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality will be affected by 3,300 job cuts nationwide in the next three years at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
12,000 Quebec daycare workers hold demonstrations and strike day
CTV News
More than 12,000 union members in 400 public daycares in Quebec are holding a one-day strike on Thursday.
Contract bargaining begins for B.C. public sector unions
Global News
Contract talks between the British Columbia government’s unionized public sector workers started Wednesday with a union leader forecasting a difficult round of bargaining.
Union investigates claims that Boeing is sending work to non-union locations
Yahoo
Boeing's engineering union is formally investigating claims from its members that the company is moving work to non-union locations in the United States and overseas.
January 23, 2025
Education minister remembered as husband, dad… and huge Jets fan
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Jets customized a memorial jersey for Nello Altomare with a number that nods to the hockey superfan’s final role as Manitoba’s 35th minister of education.
York University Staff Association Receives 'No Board' Report and Pushes Back Against Rising Workloads and Cuts to Benefits
Cision
York University Staff Association (YUSA) is raising concerns over growing workloads, stagnant wages and proposed benefit reductions, as York University prioritizes management expansion over support staff. After months of bargaining without significant progress, YUSA is prepared to stand firm against concessions that threaten its members and the students they serve.
UQAC deregisters 104 students: miscalculation or essential measure?
University Affairs
At the end of November, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) deregistered 104 of its students, 65 per cent of whom were international students. The decision raised several questions about payment policies and the communication process of the administration.
Scathing audit says MUN ignored asbestos, mould in favour of overspending on laptops and a tractor
CBC
Memorial University's campus renewal fee was designed to pay for the institution's most pressing deferred maintenance projects like its asbestos-riddled tunnel system and mould.
Trump won’t ban immigration arrests at school. Some families are now weighing school attendance
Globe and Mail
As President Donald Trump cracks down on immigrants in the U.S. illegally, some families are wondering if it is safe to send their children to school.
Columbia University says it is increasing campus security after class on Israel disrupted by protesters
CBS News
Columbia University says it is boosting security after an incident on campus involving protesters.
In a surprise, U.S. colleges saw higher enrollment last fall
NPR
College enrollment in the U.S. rose for the first time last fall to surpass pre-pandemic levels, new figures out today show.
Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring
Science
Donald Trump’s return to the White House is already having a big impact at the $47.4 billion U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), with the new administration imposing a wide range of restrictions, including the abrupt cancellation of meetings such as grant review panels. Officials have also ordered a communications pause, a freeze on hiring, and an indefinite ban on travel.
Unpaid internship access 'unfair' to working class, students say
BBC
Unpaid and low-paid internships are "unfair" to working class graduates, students say, as a new study suggests that these opportunities increasingly favour those from a middle class background.
Trump administration authorizes immigration enforcement on school campuses
USA Today
The Trump administration on Tuesday authorized federal authorities to conduct immigration arrests on school campuses, a decision a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said would prevent "criminals" from being able to "hide in America’s schools."
Parliamentary inquiry to probe “exorbitantly” huge university VC pay packets, governance concerns
News.com.au
Powerful university vice-chancellors are expected to be dragged to a proposed parliamentary probe and forced to answer questions on their “exorbitantly” high salaries and other scandals affecting the beleaguered sector.
Poilievre says he wants to cut the federal public service, doesn't mind remote work
CBC
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says a government led by him would cut the number of federal public servants — but he doesn't mind if they work from home.
January 22, 2025
School division implements new policy after AI-generated nudes made headlines
Winnipeg Free Press
One year after AI-generated nudes of underage students from Winnipeg sparked a Canada-wide conversation about sexual violence in the age of artificial intelligence, the school division at the centre of the scandal has come up with a new protocol.
More college layoffs result from federal cut to number of international students
Globe and Mail
Toronto’s Centennial College has announced it will be suspending programs and shedding jobs as it faces the financial consequences of a federal government cut to international student numbers and a long-term freeze on domestic tuition prices.
New York governor proposes banning cellphones in schools starting next fall
Globe and Mail
Students throughout New York state might have to give up their cellphones during school hours starting next fall under a proposal announced Tuesday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
More than 40% of postdocs leave academia, study reveals
Nature
More than 40% of postdoctoral researchers leave academia, according to a study of some 45,500 researchers’ careers1. Those who stayed and landed a coveted faculty position were more likely to have had a highly cited paper, changed their research topic between their PhD and postdoc, or moved abroad after receiving their doctorate.
An overlooked defense in faculty First Amendment academic freedom and other cases
Reuters
Terminating tenured faculty can present significant challenges for public colleges and universities. Often personnel rules or collective bargaining agreements prohibit terminations or other discipline except for "just cause," placing the burden of proof on the college or university to show the conduct at issue satisfies this standard.
Canada's immigration department cutting roughly 3,300 jobs over 3 years
CBC
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced plans to cut about 3,300 jobs, or about a quarter of its workforce, over the next three years.
Amazon to close Quebec facilities, insists it's not because of new union
CBC
Amazon announced on Wednesday it will shutter its facilities in Quebec in the coming weeks and cut more than 1,700 jobs.
B.C. union leader says 'high probability' of dispute in public sector contract talks
The Canadian Press
Contract talks between the British Columbia government's unionized public sector workers start today with a union leader forecasting a difficult round of bargaining.
Inmates working in prisons want to be treated like public servants
MSN
The inmates who work inside federal prisons want the right to unionize like other public servants.
Union representing 30,000 City of Toronto workers votes for strike mandate
CP24
A union representing some 30,000 inside workers at the City of Toronto says its members have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a strike mandate if bargaining fails to yield a deal.
‘No better than working at 7-Eleven’: Unions oppose bill to end collective bargaining for Utah public employees
The Salt Lake Tribune
The head of Utah’s largest teachers’ union is warning that a bill proposed in the Utah Legislature could hurt public workers — teachers, law enforcement, firefighters, public transit drivers and more — and the people they serve.
Trump administration sued over order making it easier to fire federal workers
The Guardian
One day after Donald Trump returned to office, a leading government labor union filed a lawsuit against his administration’s reclassification of thousands of federal workers as political hires.
January 21, 2025
Internal docs show support for moderate, not extreme, changes to teacher training
Winnipeg Free Press
MANITOBA Education made sweeping changes to speed up the teacher-certification process by slackening training requirements — even though confidential documents reveal there was reasonable support for moderate tweaks among key stakeholders.
Revival of God Save the King in Dauphin-area schools raises concerns about reconciliation
CBC
A school division in western Manitoba has decided to once again include God Save the King in its schools' morning announcements, a move that has some questioning whether it promotes reconciliation efforts with Indigenous staff and students.
University of Ottawa reaches tentative agreement with faculty union to avert strike
Ottawa Citizen
A strike at the University of Ottawa has been averted after the union representing faculty members and the university reached an agreement in principle.
At University of Alberta, more proof we're watching DEI die in real time
National Post
DEI is dead.
Trump’s plans to axe US education department put marginalized students most at risk, experts warn
The Guardian
For many students of color, access to an equitable education is dependent on the initiatives and programs provided by the Department of Education. Among its various functions, the department provides targeted funding for low-income students, collects data on educational outcomes and investigates potential bias – essential functions that help underserved students. But such services stand to be disrupted or ended entirely as Donald Trump plans to dismantle the department during his second tenure.
Manitoba fights for more skilled workers after Ottawa cuts program
Winnipeg Free Press
Manitoba is lobbying the federal government to reconsider its decision to slash by half the number of skilled immigrants the province is allowed this year, as business leaders say the economy cannot afford the cut.
Employer Prosecuted for Workplace Incident
Province of Manitoba
Manitoba Labour and Immigration is reminding employers to ensure machines are equipped with safeguards after an employer was prosecuted under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Federal immigration department to cut 3,300 jobs over the next three years
Globe and Mail
The federal immigration department is planning to slash the size of its work force by about 25 per cent starting next month, as part of budgetary cuts across the public service after a decade-long hiring spree.
Deals for Ontario collective agreements now taking almost twice as long as those reached in previous years
Globe and Mail
Unions and employers in Ontario appear to be taking longer to negotiate collective agreements, with both sides often failing to reach a deal in less than a year from when bargaining starts.
Trump seeks to end telework for federal workers
OPB
President Trump has signed an executive action directing federal agencies to order their workers back to the office full time.
Trump imposes federal government hiring freeze, orders workers back to office
Politico
President Donald Trump is imposing an across-the-board government hiring freeze and ordering federal workers to return to the office full time.
