As PSAC 901’s strike action continues, graduate student workers are raising concerns about financial precarity and unaffordable living costs.
Just under two months after the City of Kingston declared food insecurity a housing crises is raising questions on the picket line about how the University financially s its Teaching Assistants (TAs), Research Assistants (RAs), and Teaching Fellows (TFs).
Two graduate students spoke to The Journal about their expenses and earnings.
READ MORE: 2,000 graduate student workers walk off the job
“TA roles are pretty dynamic at Queen’s, but generally speaking, mostly grading [assignments], office hours with students, and helping with assignments,” Bock said. “I really try to make myself as available as possible for .”
Joe Borsato, a PhD candidate in Indigenous history, has a similar monthly earning to Bock as a TF for two undergraduate courses in the Department of History. Borsato has also taught first year weekly seminars, which requires deg course material, preparing lectures and discussions, and marking.
“The full contract as a TF is between $7,500 and $8,000 for the whole semester,” Borsato said. “I work around 12 to 20 hours per week, and depending on the workload, it could easily be over 20 hours.”
According to Bock and Borsato, the amount they receive for being a TA and TF is far from enough, with both relying on external sources of income to cover their living expenses.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council grant plays a significant role in Bock’s finances, giving her a one-time payment of $27,000, which is received in three installments of $9,000 for all years of her degree.
Last year, Bock also received the Ontario Graduate Scholarship, a one-time, $15,000, merit-based scholarship for students in graduate studies at the master and doctoral levels.
Despite receiving external funding, most of Bock’s income is allocated to rent in a house she shares with one other person off-campus, where she pays $925 monthly with utilities included. Her grocery expenses typically range from $300 to $500 each month.
With Bus-It—a program for full-time, on-campus students that accepts a Queen’s student card as a bus —Bock saves money on transportation, but her monthly expenses typically total around $2,000 per month. Borsato stated similar monthly expenses.
Bock and Borsato’s tuition totals around $2,000 to $3,000 per term.
“With an income of at best $2,000, you cut it really close every month,” Borsato said.
The average cost of living in Kingston is $1,355.9 a month, excluding rent, and the average monthly rent price in Kingston is $1,807. Combined, these figures exceed what Bock and Borsato earn through their TA and TF positions.
Bock finds herself dipping into savings and taking on extra teaching to make ends meet.
“I quit my side job recently because I was burned out,” Bock said. “But the stress of not having enough money doesn’t go away.”
Both Bock and Borsato say these financial stressors affect their research, pushing timelines, and worsening their mental health.
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