Why McGill TAs are on the picket line

Over 1600 teaching assistants at McGill University are on strike and it could last up to 8 weeks if they don’t reach an agreement with the university. After six months of negotiations, they say they’ve seen 0 progress. The tiers want better pay that’s competitive with other top schools in Canada, and they want a beefed up healthcare plan. The TA say their hours are being cut, forcing some of them to take on other jobs. So in many departments, the university is cutting contracts from 180 to 150 hours. In some departments, people are working as little as 45 hour contracts. As a result, Jokic says many Tasmania work on paid overtime. McGill says it values the T as contributions and it’s looking forward to continuing. Discussions with the union. It also says that it’s prioritizing steps to make sure that the strike doesn’t affect students negatively. Negotiations will continue Tuesday.