The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) 901, Unit 1, strike, representing Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, and Graduate Research Assistants, has officially reached it’s 10th day on the picket line.
On March 14, Queen’s released a Labour News update outlining a conditional agreement contingent on the full agreement of PSAC 901. The proposal, presented by the University’s bargaining team on March 9, came ahead of the strike deadline set for March 8. According to PSAC 901 President Jake Morrow, the University’s deal pushed the union to go on strike.
The University’s offer included a three-year contract with annual wage increases of three per cent, followed by 2.25 per cent in both 2025 and 2026. The agreement aligns with the recent settlement at Queen’s and includes the market adjustment effective May 1 intended to align part-time graduate student worker wages with those at other research-intensive universities in Ontario.
According to the University’s proposed agreement, on May 1, 2026, the hourly wage would reach $50, equating to $9,924 annually for Teaching Fellows.
The PSAC 901 bargaining team proposed applying the wage increase retroactively from May 2024, the expiry date of the last collective agreement. For in one-year master’s programs or those graduating soon, the University would pay the wage difference from April 2024 to the present.
Additionally, the offer includes a three per cent payment instead of benefits, equivalent to an extra $1.50 per hour—an ongoing feature of the Queen’s-PSAC Collective Agreement—and a $200 lump sum ratification bonus for the 2024-25 academic year following the agreement ratification.
Still, union emphasize the strike isn’t only about wages, it’s a fight for their livelihoods and basic well-being.
“Our picket lines have been disrupting the normal operations of the University, which is what picket lines do. This is what a strike is, and it’s been heartening to see it being so effective. […] The University would rather watch classes get cancelled. They’d [the University] rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on security than come to the [bargaining] table” Morrow said in an interview with The Journal.
“Despite the seemingly attractive wage rates given by the employer in their March 9 best offer, the reality is that those numbers don’t directly address the affordability crisis,” the bargaining team shared in an Instagram video on March 20.
“Queen’s University is currently paying graduate student workers so little that many are skipping meals. Some are homeless. We’re fighting for our livelihoods, and at times, food on the table. The University is fighting for a budget line. We’re ready to go as long as this takes, and we’ll win,” Morrow said.
As negotiations remain stalled, the union is committed to continuing the strike until their demands for fair wages and better working conditions are met.
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