Last week, I received a disconcerting e-mail from the laughably named account, Tuition Assistance.
The message stated that those who did not willingly agree to the terms of the TA wage reduction would have the balance moved to their student accounts.
I was one of those who did not consent to the wage claw back demands of the university and, in fact, I sent a reply of similar character to which I did not receive a reply.
Sleight aside, I wish to re-iterate my displeasure for how the university continues to handle this situation. The clandestine and unilateral decision-making processes of a “publicly-funded institution” without notification to, or negotiation with, the employees of this university are abhorrent.
These are business practices of those who would abuse their positions of power over their lowest-paid employees. So to say the least, I am dismayed — not only by the solutions offered by my employer, but by the processes involved in coming to their so-called solutions.
As a member of CUPE 4600, I was advised by my union to not accept the terms and conditions offered by the university. I wrote an email of complaint that asked for more transparency and compassion on behalf of Carleton’s human resources department. In response, the university issued a general statement continuing in the same spirit of their initial solution: Carleton will use any means necessary to recoup this money.
They have threatened to move the amount over to my university student account as a receivable. I am indignant about this clear violation of privacy and access to my personal information. I am both a student and an employee at this university. To use one status to leverage the other is an ethically questionable practice approved of by this university’s administration. I did not consent to the use of my personal and student information to be used in such a way.
In fact, there are limited actions to which I have consented for the university to complete on my behalf, such as allocating my earned wages towards the payment of my tuition and ancillary fees.
To reiterate: this is a pay issue, and should not affect my status as a student. Carleton cannot and should not move funds or charges between the two without my consent. This is a violation of my privacy because they have not received my consent to use my information in such a manner.
I can sympathize with the university in so far that they committed an accounting error. Carleton should have just corrected the error so that it would not carry forward.
However, I object to their continued attempts to claw back the money they have already paid out without our consent. Furthermore, I am incensed by Carleton’s methods and the manner in which it chose them.
When this issue has been resolved, I personally would like to see greater transparency and accountability on the part of the university’s administration in the handling of this situation and of future ones.
Furiously,
— Will Nham
second-year master’s, anthropology
