Author: Josh

President Saini,

I write to you today to vociferously decry your callous actions towards McGill and all its constituents. Under the guise of a budgetary shortfall, you are continuing your policy of scorched earth and laying waste to every institution you have headed over the years. You are following in the footsteps of Heather Monroe-Blum, turning the Royal Institution for the Advancement of Learning into a ‘Corporate Trade School’.

You are laying off and terminating  hard working employees who have families and are already struggling to make ends meet, some of whom are on long term disability. All the while the upper management, with their bloated salaries, continue to feed at the trough of excess. This tone deaf reaction to the so-called deficit can only result in ruination of a once proud place of higher learning, the final nail in the coffin as it were. 

For the sake of the argument, let us assume the deficit is real. I would then ask that you and the upper management of McGill show some actual leadership. This can be done in several ways;

• Reduce the number of positions in upper management,

• Reduce their salaries to the equivalent in other Quebec Universities, 
  
  
• Place a hiring freeze on upper management positions for the duration of the ‘budgetary crisis’,
  
  
• Stop and cancel the hiring of those whose purposes is to find employees to be terminated,
  
  
• Cancel the Nous Group contract and any other one in the same vein. See below for examples of the devastation caused by NousGroup and like companies that have no understanding of Universities and their commitment to higher education and research.

Also, I am asking you to cancel all terminations, layoffs, relocations and provide all the stakeholders with the budget and expenses, the real one with all the information in order to see the true picture. I would then ask you to sit with all the interested parties in good faith, with transparency and with a sincere desire to deal fairly and effectively with the present state of affairs at McGill. If you refuse, I would then ask for your resignation.

MUNACA and the other unions on campus will not take these cuts lying down. We’re organizing.

Regards tc

Thomas Chalmers

President MUNACA/PSAC 17602

President Saini you were President & Vice-Chancellor / Professor of Plant, Food & Environmental Sciences  Dalhousie University,  Jan 2020 to Dec 2022. In 2022 Dalhousie hired UniForum . We also know that Nous Group was used by University of Canberra, where you were Vice-Chancellor & President  University of Canberra  Sep 2016 – Dec 2019.The general impact of UniForum and Nous Group on universities is that they offer a very expensive benchmarking tool and consultancy, that will push through a pre-existing agenda to make Universities run like businesses during, recommending centralization, automation, and even governance changes, all in times of “austerity”. They manipulate statistics and methodology for this end.( Nous Group and UniForum )

MUNACA spoke to someone at SFU and learned that they cut so deep that their popular co-op program nearly lost accreditation, and they could not keep up with admissions to the University. Here’s a bit of what happened at Queen’s https://qcaa.ca/shockdoctrine/

At Laurentian University the result of austerity with UniForum/Nous Group recommendation was probably the most devastating: “The group recommends reducing the size of the university’s senate, developing a new strategic plan and consolidating all student services.”  In all 69 undergraduate and graduate programs and 195 faculty positions were cut. Nous Group worked to change Laurenntian’s own governance structure. The reports produced by Nous Group have been removed from Laurentian’s website. 

Some other interesting sources: 

Dear MUNACA Members,

We have looked into the UniForum questionnaire. The questions may appear innocuous and even legitimate, but the context reveals that they are not.

At the University’s Town Hall on February 7th, it was announced that the “salary mass” of administrative personnel would be reduced due to financial difficulties. In clear terms, they are threatening to lay off administrative personnel in the near future.

The employer intends to use this survey to justify laying us off, abolishing our jobs, and reorganizing our workplace, all while the compensation for those making these decisions continues to balloon. The employer has the gall to ask for the support of those whose livelihoods are in jeopardy, to help to determine which positions should be cut first! 

We urge our fellow union members to use this template to respond to this so-called “survey.”

Instructions:

• For all multiple-choice or rating questions regarding professional staff and services, select high satisfaction responses.
  
• For any written response sections, use the following statement:

“I am very satisfied with the dedication and hard work of my colleagues at McGill, who consistently strive to provide essential services despite years of hiring freezes. This survey fails to distinguish between the decisions made by senior administration’s policies and processes versus the actual performance of frontline staff.

Our frontline workforce holds irreplaceable institutional knowledge and expertise, essential to the university’s daily operations. We will not allow this data to be weaponized through surveys to rationalize the destruction of our jobs and livelihoods.

We are ready and willing to have a genuine conversation about how this university can be better managed, but this survey is not the forum. It is a tool designed to justify cuts, not a meaningful dialogue. We believe that all McGill staff deserve respect, security, and the resources to do their jobs effectively.”

On February 7th, 2025, the University surprisingly announced, during their Townhall, some disturbing news that MUNACA was surprised to learn, especially considering the magnitude of what was being disclosed. 

Considering the Employer’s failure to contact the Union prior to this announcement, we have requested a meeting with the Employer as soon as possible. The purpose of this meeting is to address all of the current and upcoming reorganizations, restructurings and their consequences, including abolitions and potential layoffs. Our intention is to mitigate the upcoming ‘Project Horizon’.

We will keep you updated as the situation evolves.

We strongly recommend that you:

Verify that your Seniority is Correct 

●     by going into Workday and the November 2024 Seniority list and ensuring these are reflective of your time at McGill. If it is incorrect, contact HR to have it corrected and CC reception@munaca.com. 

●     If you suspect you are on soft/research funds please make sure that you have your letters ofhire/appointments and verify if indeed you belong to some research group (as of what date) as these groups may or may not have job security.If you are unsure please contact us. 

Let us know about any Reorganizations, Restructuring or Shuffling of personnel so we can take a look into it 

Have questions or concerns about seniority, reorganizations or anything else? 

Contact your nearest Steward or the MUNACA office 

(email reception@munaca.com; Tel 514-371-2222)

Dear Members,

Like you, I have been watching the rapid deterioration of human rights, social justice, and workers’ rights in the United States with growing concern. Our two nations have proudly shared the longest undefended border in the world for generations – a steady partnership that is now under attack by the Trump administration.

Donald Trump and his administration are undoing so many of the hard-fought victories our collective labour movement has fought and won. I share the anger and frustration many of you are feeling. His divisive rhetoric and policies are impacting the lives of millions of workers, for the worst, on either side of the border.

As we find ourselves on the brink of a trade war with our closest ally – one that will hurt millions of workers and families in Canada – I want to recognize just how important your work is every day, but especially now in the face of this crisis.

Understandably, this is a very stressful time we are living in. This is only intensified by the affordability crisis affecting millions of us across Canada. I want you to know that we’ll continue to fight for you. We won’t back down when it comes to defending your rights.

We are here for you.

We’re a team.

As we navigate these tense times, remember you have us to rely on.

In solidarity,

Sharon DeSousa
National President, PSAC

Dear Members, 

We write to you today to update you on MUNACA’s new telephone number. In order to protect the integrity of union business we felt it prudent to have a telephone system of  our own.

MUNACA’s new phone number is 514-371-2222. You will be able to select five locals; 

1. Reception
2. Labour Relations
3. Research
4. President
5. Vice-President Labour Relations

We apologise in advance for any inconvenience during this transition period.

Yours in solidarity,

MUNACA Executive Committee