Union worries Mac will cut instructors

About 300 sessional instructors at McMaster are worrying about their employment futures as the economy forces the university to tighten its collective belt.

The sessional instructors, who are hired one course at a time, are responsible for as much as 40 to 50 per cent of undergraduate instruction in some programs.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said there are worrisome signs that McMaster could be preparing to cut back dramatically on its use of sessional instructors as, like other universities, it tries to save money after taking dramatic losses on investments that fund much of its operations.

The university says it is not planning to eliminate sessionals altogether, and has no broad plan to reduce their numbers, though it is hiring more full-time faculty who would displace some sessional instructors, and is generally trying to absorb costs where possible.