Protest shows opposition to contract cleaners

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Photo by Mynt Marsellus
Photo by Mynt Marsellus

Students, staff and faculty of Wilfrid Laurier University were surprised to see a group of protestors along University Avenue early Tuesday morning.

The group, holding signs that said, โ€œNo! Contracting out at WLU,โ€ walked down the street in protest of having contract cleaners at the newly named Lazaridis School of Business and Economics building.

โ€œThe new building across the street here, it used to be [St. Michael campus], it used to be our work in there, now theyโ€™ve put up this new building and it should be, at least I would have to say five custodial jobs that they should be hiring for that would give five people in this community good paying jobs,โ€ said protestor Roger Collison.

Collison, an employee of Laurier, believed the new building is rightfully theirs, according to the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 926 collective agreement.

โ€œTheyโ€™re violating that collective agreement, so itโ€™s just a protest and a campaign to show them that we want to make the people aware of whatโ€™s going on,โ€ Collison explained.

Collison continued to say itโ€™s a “battle around contract workers,” adding the contract company exploits new people to Canada by having them work for minimum wage.

โ€œI know the companyโ€™s got to make money too, but not on the backs of other people.โ€

Collison and the protest group believed university students would not get the same experience with contract cleaners as with the full-time custodians.

โ€œWe love the students and thereโ€™s another thing too, not anything against the contract cleaners but we are paid by Wilfrid Laurier so this means a lot to us,โ€ Collison continued. โ€œSometimes Iโ€™m more of a parent than a custodian, and the kids learn to trust us so itโ€™s putting back to the university and to the kids.โ€

 

 


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