Teaching Assistants’ Union of Memorial University (TAUMUN) is condemning an employee engagement survey commissioned by the university’s administration through the company TalentMap, calling it “a flagrant waste of funds” amid ongoing budget cuts.
In a statement to mattbarter.ca, TAUMUN President Kieran Knoll said the spending was especially troubling as many departments across the university face budget cuts, Grenfell Campus continues to lose resources and representation, and employment opportunities for graduate students steadily erode.
TAUMUN members were initially excluded from the survey, as the university considered them graduate students rather than employees for the purposes of the survey. The union rejected what it called a “false classification” of its members as non-employees and raised the issue with President Janet Morrison.
In correspondence with the president, TAUMUN warned that “any action by MUN that does not recognize Teaching and Graduate Assistants as legitimate employees is both divisive and disrespectful to the academic workforce, whose contributions are essential to the functioning of the university.”
Only after this intervention did the university reverse course. President Morrison later confirmed that TAUMUN members had been added to the survey and urged the union to disseminate it among its members.
Memorial amended the scope of services in its contract with TalentMap to include an additional 627 TAUMUN employees at a cost of $5,000. Knoll said TAUMUN was not presented with this cost, nor with the original $75,950 contract.
Matt Barter is a graduate of the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty at Memorial University of Newfoundland, holding a degree in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. He enjoys reading thought-provoking articles, taking walks in nature, and volunteering in the community.
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