Talks stall over wages and funding
Graduate student workers at Queen’s University have voted to strike after securing the strongest strike mandate in their union’s history.
PSAC 901 Unit 1, which represents over 2,000 teaching assistants, research assistants, and teaching fellows, says job action could disrupt tutorials, research, and teaching if their demands are not met.
The union is calling for fair wages, tuition relief, affordable housing, and paid time to learn course content. PhD students receive a minimum of $23,000 per year, far below Ontario’s minimum wage earnings of $36,000. Master’s students have no guaranteed funding.
The union says Queen’s delayed bargaining for months and has rejected all monetary proposals. Conciliation talks began in January. USW 2010, another Queen’s labour union, also held its first-ever strike vote.
If no deals are reached, over 3,500 academic workers could strike at the same time, impacting thousands of students.
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