The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has launched an investigation after HEC Montréal reportedly laid off several security and maintenance staff, including some of whom were involved in recent a unionization request. The day before HEC laid off 17 security and maintenance staff, CUPE had reportedly filed a request for unionization with the Tribunal administratif du travail on behalf of approximately 60 HEC Montréal employees. CUPE stated that it is investigating the matter to determine if HEC “attempted to interfere with the employees’ legal and legitimate right to organize.” According to Le Journal de Montréal, HEC asserted that the layoffs are not related to the unionization requests, but rather were part of a larger restructuring strategy. HEC added that they were informed of unionization efforts only after dismissing the employees in question.
