Queen's grad students striking 'under poverty wages,' union says

A union representing about 2,000 graduate students at Queen's University working as teaching fellows and teaching or research assistants is on strike as of Monday morning.

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 901 said in a statement Monday the university's pay and mental health benefits offer is too low. The union is also dissatisfied with the university's response to the union's child-care proposals.

"It's been a frustrating and exhausting weekend," local union president Jake Morrow said in an interview. "The employer refused to come to the table with an offer that the membership would accept."

The key issues for members are tied to pay, Morrow said.

"We're fighting under poverty wages," he said. "Members are struggling to put food on the table. They're struggling — struggling to pay rent, and this disproportionately falls on racialized and international members."

The annual salary of union members works out to half of what a minimum-wage worker in the province would earn in a year, Morrow said.

Queen's said in a Monday statement it "values the contributions of its employees and respects the collective bargaining process." CBC has asked the university for comment on specific demands from the union.

The university said it is open and classes continue during the strike but asked anyone going to campus to plan for delays because of picket lines.

Morrow said the university response amounts to pretending "everything's OK while the whole house is on fire."

Queen's said last month the previous deal with the union expired at the end of April 2024 and the two sides had been meeting since November.

A labour ministry conciliator had not been able to help them find a deal by late February, according to the school, triggering the countdown to Monday's legal strike date.

Queen's was also negotiating with support staff under United Steelworkers and its Local 2010. The two sides said Sunday they had reached a tentative agreement.