Teaching assistants at McMaster University have been walking the picket line for more than two weeks, in a strike that now threatens to disrupt final exams.
Teaching assistants at McMaster University have been walking the picket line for more than two weeks, in a strike that now threatens to disrupt final exams.
It’s one of a number of labour conflicts on Canadian campuses that have come to a head as employees, conscious that many universities fared well financially during the pandemic, seek wage gains to keep up with soaring inflation.
In February and March, four universities had faculty strikes, and last month a three-week TA and sessional instructor strike at Dalhousie University ended with an agreement on wage increases ranging from 20 to 45 per cent. A strike deadline has been set this week at the University of Toronto, where TAs and contract instructors are seeking better pay and pathways to permanent jobs.
