Worker dies of cardiac arrest at work at Simon Fraser University
The death of a longtime janitorial worker at Simon Fraser University (SFU) has sparked renewed calls for improved working conditions and an end to the contracting out of cleaning services on campus, according to a report.
The worker, Kulbir Kaila, 61, died of a heart attack while working as a cleaner at SFU’s Burnaby campus on July 28.
Her family alleges that the work pressures she faced contributed to her death.
“The workload was very immense and she had many areas to cover, and it involved a lot of moving from different buildings,” said Palbinder Johal, Kaila’s sister-in-law, noting that the campus’s size made the job especially demanding, according to a CBC report.
Kaila, who had worked at SFU for nearly 20 years, was responsible for cleaning multiple buildings during her shift.
“She was a little stressed about the job as sometimes she would mention to me that she's having a hard time here,” said Gurpreet Samra, Kaila’s niece.
On Thursday, dozens gathered at the Burnaby campus to remember Kaila and to demand better conditions for other contracted custodial workers. The vigil was organised by Contract Worker Justice @SFU, a coalition advocating for an end to contracting out cleaning and food services, and CUPE Local 3338, which represents more than 1,200 campus employees.
Shaneza Bacchus, president of CUPE Local 3338, said Kaila’s death highlights “the toll of heavy workloads and precarity” that contracted custodial workers face across SFU’s Burnaby, Surrey, and Vancouver campuses.
Bacchus noted that workloads have grown since a series of layoffs last year, with many remaining workers being “marginalised, immigrant women and people of colour doing physically demanding jobs, many of them over 50,” according to the CBC report.
She called on SFU to bring these workers in-house “for dignity, equity, and safety in the workplace,” adding, “Our community is stronger when all workers are protected.”
SFU contracts its cleaning services to Best Service Pros, a Coquitlam-based janitorial company.
In a statement to CBC News, the university said it is “deeply saddened by this tragic passing of a BEST worker,” and emphasised that “maintaining safe and healthy learning and working environments is of paramount importance to the university.” SFU indicated that any questions about conditions for Best Service Pros workers should be directed to the company.
