The University of Calgary is standing firm on a decision to contract out its food service operations, a move that will eliminate just under 300 jobs.

And officials say escalated union pressure, which included a recent information picket and a new public awareness campaign, won't result in reconsideration of the planned changes.

As of May 1, the U of C expects Chartwells, which operates the food service programs in community colleges and universities across Canada, to take over its dining service needs. By doing so the university says it will save $7 million over a 10-year period.

Chartwells is a division of Compass Group, which entered the Canadian market in 1997. Chartwells and the Compass Group in Canada are part of the UK-based Compass Group plc, the world's largest food service company with operations in more than 90 countries. Worldwide, the Compass Group has more than 360,000 employees.

Larry MacDougal, Business Edge
An information picket at the University of Calgary last week had the effect of raising awareness of the issue, but administrators says they will not budge.

Chartwells is hopeful of signing a five-to 10-year deal with the U of C that will take effect May 1, meaning April 30 could be the last day of work for 298 employees, including 176 students.

"We work at an educational institution that teaches professionals on how to run a business and how to do the right things and here we are making money and being contracted out. It doesn't seem to make sense," said Ollie Yacyshyn, a U of C food service employee who has been with the university for more than 25 years.

In the last fiscal year, the food service department made a profit of $846,000 on revenue of nearly $7 million, according to the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE), which represents the workers.

"It's extremely, extremely stressful," added Yacyshyn. "Everyday you hear about this contracting out ... it's extremely hard. We (the university) teach people how not to treat people and we were treated like nothing. It's just so wrong."

Yacyshyn said she and her fellow staffers first heard about the situation in January 2004, but notes that the news was only confirmed last month.

In an attempt to get the university to change its mind, AUPE held an information picket on campus last week, and said more than 750 turned out.

"The goal is to rally support for the workers and to highlight what a poor decision it was and hopefully have the university reconsider the decision," said AUPE president Dan MacLennan. "Right now, the ball is kind of in the university's court."

The union has also purchased billboard advertising that states "Don't sell out the people who built the U of C! It's not too late to do the right thing," and is launching a radio ad campaign.

In addition to the food service situation, AUPE is currently in negotiations for a new contract for 2,800 U of C support employees, which includes the food service staff. The current contract expires March 31.

"It casts a pall over the present round of bargaining," said MacLennan. "We think there were some major problems in food services, we think they could have been fixed through management changes and we have some recommendations on how they could increase their profits. One of the major problems was that they were making profit off food service and not reinvesting it in food service."

The union has also filed a policy grievance, saying the university has failed to follow due process in contracting out the jobs. It has asked an arbitrator for an expedited hearing.

The university says contracting out food service will allow it to enhance the quality of the undergraduate and graduate experience, to secure capital investment in its facility and increase the financial return while reducing risk.

"We've had conversations with the union, we've informed them about this process for over a year," said Mike McAdam, the U of C's vice-president for finance and services. "It's not a case of sitting down at this point in time; we've had conversations going back over a year. We examined all aspects of the issue and made our decision."

McAdam said some food service employees may be hired by Chartwells, some will likely choose to retire or others may move on to different jobs. Chartwells has indicated an interest in reviewing the resumés of the existing employees.

McAdam also said that once the Chartwells contract is in place, food service patrons will see some differences.

"They'll notice refurbished facilities, a capital investment in the dining room and new uniforms. They'll also notice many of the same faces, simply wearing different uniforms, and hopefully notice the variety in servings," said McAdam.

The changes will come in part through a capital investment by Chartwells that McAdam called "substantial," and will take place over the first few years of the pending deal along with continual upgrades over the life of the contract.

Compass Group officials in Canada said exact details remain to be finalized with the U of C, including the menu options to be offered. They said they will work with the university to meet its needs.

Other universities the company serves in Canada include McGill and Concordia.

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)