Other reductions part of normal operational changes
5/17/2004 4:24:26 PM
May 17, 2004 – In response to the press release issued by the Newfoundland Public and Private Employees (NAPE) last week, Stephen Lee, Communications Manager at College of the North Atlantic, says while there were more than 34 layoff notices issued, the additional layoffs were not related to the $2 million reduction in the college’s provincial operating grant.
“There were other layoffs, but they were not a result of this year’s budget reduction,” says Lee. “For instance, we had a number of programs that were being phased out due to low enrollments, and those announcements were made last year. We still had students in those programs that needed to complete their second year and earn their diploma, so while those instructors knew as of last year that they were being laid off, they only received their notices this year.”
The union is also counting staff in temporary positions whose contracts have expired and other contractual employees who receive layoff notices every year around this time. The list of 50 employees also includes double counts.
“So, yes, there are more layoffs than the 34 originally announced, about 10 more, but these happen every year as a part of regular college business. In fact, throughout the year we have layoffs due to situations such as expiring contracts and so on. We hire people on throughout the year as well,” says Lee.