MONTREAL, April 19,
2024 /CNW/ - At a General Assembly on Thursday
evening, McGill University's 1,600
teaching assistants (TAs) put an end to their month-long strike.
They walk away with 15.5% pay rises over the next four years and
guarantees for transparency on how the University allocates TA
budgets.
"Our battle was one for decent living conditions for
McGill graduate students. We owe our
gains to the extraordinary mobilization of our members, but also to
the solidarity shown by the entire university community," explains
Dallas Jokic, member of the
Association of Graduate Students Employed by McGill-CSN (AGSEM-CSN)
negotiating committee.
The union nonetheless condemns McGill's refusal to recognize in the text of the
new collective agreement that misgendering and deadnaming represent
a form of harassment of transgender teaching assistants. The union
calls on McGill to include language
clarifying that misgendering is a form of harassment in their
Policy on Harassment and Discrimination, under review in the
upcoming academic year.
The settlement of the labour dispute comes just in time to avoid
the worst of the negative impacts it would have had on the end of
term, officially scheduled for April
30. The strike affected the normal conduct of nearly 1,000
courses at the University.
"When it comes to McGill's quality
education, the essential role played by teaching assistants needs
no further demonstration. The members of AGSEM can be proud of
having stood up to an institution like McGill - what aplomb!" exclaimed Caroline Senneville, President of the
Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN).
"The cost-of-living crisis has a severe impact on teaching
assistants, who often live in precarious conditions. The gains they
have secured prove once again that it's by standing up that you
earn respect as a worker," adds Dominique
Daigneault, President of the Conseil central du Montréal
métropolitain–CSN.
"After a year of very little flexibility at the bargaining
table, it took a strike to bring the employer to a respectful offer
for teaching assistants. We salute the union's tenacity," concluded
Christine Gauthier, Vice-President
of the Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du
Québec-CSN (FNEEQ-CSN).
SOURCE CSN