Cape Breton University professors fear layoffs as early as spring

The faculty union at Cape Breton University (CBU) says there could be job losses as early as this spring after the university invoked the layoff clause in their contract because of a "financial exigency."

In a statement, the president of the Cape Breton University Faculty Association (CBUFA), Scott Stewart, called the move "disheartening." although not entirely unexpected, sincethe board passed an austerity budget last May.

CBFUA has hired accountants to review CBU's financial statements from the last 10years.

"Due diligence requires that CBUFA investigate fully the facts of the case," Stewart said.

The layoff clause in the faculty's contract requires a committee to be struck to examine all means of avoiding layoffs.

"We are hopeful that inventive ways could be found to avoid layoffs, whatever that might involve," Steward said, "but if they can't find such alternatives, then we have been told that approximately 20 CBUFA members might be laid off."

CBUpresident David Wheeler says that's truebut says the university is a "long wayfrom talking about people or positions."

$5Min cuts coming

Wheeler saysthe cuts that needto be made over the next two or three years,"meanthat, yeah, you can translate the millions of dollars that have to be saved in various parts of the institution into position-equivalents or salary-equivalents."

Wheeler says efforts are already underway and help save the institution $5million, the university invitedsome staff to consider retiring. CBUFArecentlyaccused CBU of "cherry-picking" among those who agreed to retire andaccepting only those who don't need to be replaced.

LikeCBUFA, Wheeler says innovation is the key to the future.

"We have a number of new degrees either soon-to-be-launched or under development," he said.

He says the online world has great possibilities for CBU, pointing to the success of a live-streamed course this month calledLearning from Knowledge Keepers of Mi'kma'ki.

"I think the future has to be partly about getting the best out of the current programs we've got," he said, "but continuing to innovate in those programs and launching new programs that we know will be very attractive to students from Cape Breton Island and indeed, from around the world."