Consequences of workforce reductions remain uncertain while layoff dominoes begin to fall
Laura Morales Padilla (she/her) // Co-EIC
Jerry Kambashi (He/him) // Illustrator
Despite months of workforce reductions at Capilano University, the full impact remains largely unseen. Some of the unionized employees—represented by the MoveUP union since 1974—have accepted early retirement packages, others saw their contracts expire without renewal, and multiple staff members were laid off in January as part of the university’s deficit mitigation plan for 2026-27. The work environment for unionized workers at CapU—which continues to recover after a nearly seven-week strike in 2023, as covered by The Tyee—now faces the same uncertain job security affecting other post-secondary institutions and, according to the Vancouver Sun, the B.C. public service sector. The impact of reductions on students and the increased workload on remaining employees may not become clear until the end of the Spring 2026 term.
The consequences of these workforce reductions are not yet visible because affected employees are still working through a 90-day notice period, or 45 days if they choose to exercise their “bumping” rights. Bumping, as outlined in the collective agreement between CapU and MoveUP which can be sourced on CapU’s website, allows a laid-off employee to displace—as worded by the Health and Social Services Delivery Improvement Act—a less senior colleague in another position for which they are qualified. Bumping rights serve to incentivize the administration to select positions for layoffs with “either the least seniority or have shorter appointments,” according to the collective agreement.
In practice, an employee who wants to exercise their bumping rights has to identify which positions they are qualified for on their own. Researching job duties sometimes requires reaching out to the person currently in that role to ask about their work. If they successfully bump into a new position, they face a probationary period of one month, which can be extended up to three months if the employer deems it necessary.
The process doesn’t end there. Bumped employees also gain bumping rights of their own, triggering a chain reaction like dominoes, with the least senior employee ultimately taking the hit.
Balancing transparency with privacy
The Courier reached out to MoveUP and the administration to understand why they have chosen not to provide a full list of the positions being eliminated—without employee names—to staff, given that the absence of these roles will eventually become visible. Remaining employees and departments could benefit from understanding the new scope of their work to plan for potentially increased workloads, while the broader campus community could benefit from seeing which departments are most vulnerable to the deficit and what patterns emerge in which positions are cut. However, both the union and the administration cited privacy concerns as a barrier to transparency.
“The Union is not releasing a list of positions being eliminated out of respect of privacy for those affected,” MoveUP responded. “Even if employee names were redacted, it would not be difficult to determine who is affected.”
“We are not releasing a list of affected positions at this time because outcomes can change as employees exercise their rights under the collective agreement, and releasing details prematurely could create confusion or unintentionally identify individuals,” the administration explained. When asked about how the university has ensured each affected employee received clear, direct, and timely information about their options, they indicated, “Affected employees have been notified through individual meetings and written notices outlining their options under the collective agreement, including bumping rights, vacancy elections and severance.”
A contentious Section 54 process
According to the Labour Relations Board (LRB), when a collective agreement is in place, formal notice is required from the employer if they are introducing “a measure, policy, practice or change that affects the terms, conditions or security of employment of a significant number of employees,” or intends to do so. This is known as a Section 54 notice. Once notice is given, “the employer must be prepared to meet with the union, in good faith, and try to develop an adjustment plan to mitigate its effects.”
On September 25, 2025, the university served MoveUP with a Section 54 notice, following wording guidelines recommended by the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association (PSEA) to preserve the university’s right to argue the notice wasn’t actually required and was sent only as a precaution; otherwise they would be confirming that the number of employees being laid off should be considered as significant right off the bat, which would otherwise be open to interpretation. The PSEA instructions simply state: “to avoid any potential LRB challenges by your local union.”
This notice mentioned changes to “vice-president portfolios” and “2026 Spring term faculty reductions,” but contained no information about potential impacts on MoveUP members. Without knowing how many positions will potentially be affected, job classifications, or timeline for implementation, the union couldn’t properly respond or take this notice seriously. “We have made it clear to the University that the S54 notice provided did not outline any MoveUP staff reductions, voluntary or otherwise, and that we would need to review supporting documentation including all relevant financial information before any discussion on [the voluntary early retirement incentive] could proceed,” shared the union with their membership on November 5, 2025, via email.
On December 1, an agreement was reached regarding an early retirement initiative, in which regular employees who are 55 years of age or older with at least 10 years of “pensionable service under the Municipal Pension Plan” were eligible to apply. The same day, the union sent a bulletin to their membership clarifying that this agreement does not authorize involuntary layoffs: “Any layoffs, restructuring, or staffing reductions beyond this voluntary program must be preceded by a new Section 54 notice and a new adjustment plan.” The union representatives wanted to ensure that the administration was not taking “advantage of a budgetary crisis to attempt to erode the existing protections in the Collective Agreement.”
Despite several members taking the early retirement initiative plan, a December 22 meeting revealed that there are a “very large number of proposed eliminated positions remaining” according to an update MoveUP emailed to their membership on the same day. The university committed to providing a more definitive list of positions to be eliminated on January 5, 2026. Affected employees are currently navigating the bumping process or preparing for departure.
“We have submitted multiple information requests to the Employer regarding five separate Section 54 notices involving layoffs across the University,” stated Slusarenko on February 4. “We have not yet heard back on all of these requests.” If circumstances don’t improve, “the union warns it will likely apply for Section 54 mediation at the Labour Relations Board,” indicated the MoveUP representative.
What has been done and what could still be done to prevent layoffs
“We know the post-secondary sector is facing a financial crisis, and Capilano University is no exception,” stated MoveUP Vice-President Christy Slusarenko in an email exchange with the Courier, “but our union has been sounding the alarm for years that they are far too top-heavy, and it has been this university’s administration that has exacerbated this situation.”
By top-heavy, the Vice-President is referring to exempt and excluded positions, which are management or confidential roles excluded from union representation. Examples include Deans, Directors, Managers, the Registrar, various Vice-Presidents and many others. These employees do not have the same layoff protections, bumping rights, or seniority provisions as union members. “Our position to the Employer is that if adjustments are required to respond to what we acknowledge is a bona fide budgetary crisis, the cuts should occur in the exempt and excluded roles at the University,” Slusarenko said.
Moreover, “MoveUP and CFA have been under a provincially-mandated hiring freeze the last two years,” stated the MoveUP representative. “During that time, the University has communicated they hired 93 excluded and exempt employees.” The Courier followed up to ask how many exempt staff were hired in new roles versus to fill existing positions during the hiring freeze, the response indicated, “The Union does not know the exact figure.”
When asked about what other deficit-mitigation strategies the university put forward before resorting to layoffs, the administration stated, “Layoffs were considered only after multiple deficit mitigation measures were reviewed and implemented, including restrictions on hiring and controls on discretionary and operational spending.”
According to information previously provided to the union by the university, those measures included hiring restrictions saving $2.2 million, operational spending controls saving $3.7 million, paused capital projects, elimination of six excluded positions, closure of the Sechelt and Lonsdale campuses and various revenue initiatives including increased parking fees. Still, Vice-President Slusarenko made the union’s position very clear, stating, “If adjustments are required to respond to what we acknowledge is a bona fide budgetary crisis, the cuts should occur in the exempt and excluded roles at the University.”