With exams well underway and 2,000 graduate student workers on strike, Queen’s and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) 901, Unit 1, are back at the bargaining table.
After five weeks on the picket line, the University announced on its some classes and grading disrupted by the ongoing strike.
The union, representing approximately 2,000 Graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs), Teaching Fellows (TFs), and Graduate Research Assistants (RAs), failed to reach a tentative agreement to renew their Collective Agreement, which expired on April 30, 2024. After PSAC 901 filed a No Board Report on Feb. 21, negotiations hit an ime on March 10, prompting the union to strike.
READ MORE: 2,000 graduate student workers walk off the job
Central to the union’s demands are wage increases to counter the effects of Bill 124, which previously capped public sector wage increases at one per cent per year before its repeal in February 2024. The union is calling for a $1,500 lump sum payment to offset past wage suppression, along with a four to six per cent wage increase moving forward.
The University’s February with CUPE Local 229, 1302, and 254 and includes a market adjustment effective May 1 to bring part-time graduate student wages in line with those at other U6 research-intensive universities in Ontario.
Under the proposed deal, the stipend for TFs would rise to $9,924 by May 2026, while TAs and RAs will see their hourly wage increase to $50. The offer also includes a three per cent payment in lieu of benefits—equivalent to an additional $1.50 per hour—and a $200 lump sum ratification bonus for the 2024–25 academic year if the agreement is approved.
The University didn’t provide a timeline for when a potential agreement might be reached and ratified.
This is a developing story…
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