Carleton’s work-study program is cutting student jobs this year and will no longer allow non-academic employers, such as Carleton’s student unions, to post work-study positions — resulting in union executives crying foul.
Perry Legakis, director of student awards, said the program will approve around 200 student jobs this year, resulting in about 40 fewer jobs than last year.
While the program’s funding has remained the same, fewer jobs are being offered because students must now be paid more after Ontario’s minimum wage jumped from $9.50 to $10.25 in March, Legakis said.
She also said there are too many job postings now and not enough students to fill them.
“We continually receive complaints from employers who never get contacted nor [get] the opportunity to interview and hire students,” Legakis said.
Neither CUSA nor the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) were ever consulted or informed, said Sam Heaton, CUSA’s vice-president (student services).
“Rather than investing a little more money and not cutting student jobs, they’ve completely passed the buck and are blaming the minimum wage, which is absolute crap,” Heaton said.
In the past, CUSA has offered work-study positions in their front office and service centres. Heaton said CUSA has been in constant communication with the administration throughout the summer, inquiring about work-study employer information.
CUSA did not find out about the decision until mid-August, Heaton said.
CUSA was told early in the summer that they would be eligible to post some positions and to await updates, said Heaton, adding that these promised updates were never delivered.
Legakis said the administrative decision was made in June and that CUSA did not contact them about the program before mid-August.
“I am astonished to see this claim,” Heaton said, repeating that CUSA has been in contact with administration since May.
The Carleton website says the work-study administration has the right to limit the number of positions posted by employers.
The point of the program, Legakis said, is to provide financial help to marginalized undergraduate students.
“It is not a subsidy program for employers,” Legakis said in her email.
But Heaton said losing some work-study jobs puts students at a disadvantage when it comes to work experience.
The NGO field is a huge employer, especially for arts graduates, and the experience that can be gained from working in Carleton’s service centres is extremely relevant, he said.
“The real troubling thing for me,” Heaton said, “is that these are jobs that are being lost in women’s rights advocacy, childcare, food security, disability advocacy, GLBTQ advocacy and a lot of really important groups for marginalized people on campus.”
Former work-study student Melissa Richmond is now in her fifth year. She said she started working for CUSA in second year and is now its front office manager.
Richmond said it is a shame that CUSA jobs are no longer offered through the work-study program because having a CUSA job is a great way to learn about student services while also getting paid, as opposed to simply volunteering.
Still, Legakis said students who want to volunteer but need financial assistance can apply for a bursary, a monetary grant based on financial need that does not need to be repaid.
Heaton said he will keep investigating why CUSA work-study jobs were reduced. He also said he hopes students will also voice concern over the job cuts.
“Unfortunately, this just seems like another way to shift resources away from the students,” Heaton said. “If the administration wanted to make these changes, we would have appreciated some word beforehand.”