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OTTAWA Teaching assistants at Carleton University have voted 66 per cent to ratify a new collective agreement, says their union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The new agreement runs to August 31, 2010. Highlights include a 3 per cent increase for all members, and improvements to benefit plans.
But the new agreement reduces the rebate that future teaching assistants will receive against their tuition. This will weaken future wages, says Heather Finn, co-President of CUPE 4600.
Student debt is going to rise significantly with this new scheme and may make education at Carleton more inaccessible for some, says Finn.
Turn-out at this week’s ratification votes, held over February 2 and 3, were the highest in recent memory.
There was greater membership participation in the bargaining process this year than ever before, says Finn. The vote is the final decision of the membership, and we will continue to support and represent them in their day-to-day work at Carleton.
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Contact:
Heather Finn, President, CUPE 4600, cell: 613.884.6311
John Gillies, CUPE Staff Representative, cell: 613.761.2569
David Robbins, CUPE Communications, cell: 613.878.1431
