MONTREAL, Feb. 23, 2025 /CNW/ - More than 2,000 research and teaching assistants at Concordia University have adopted a 95% strike mandate this Saturday that could go as far as prompting an unlimited general strike, jeopardizing the end-of-session period. More than 3000 tutorials, conferences and laboratories could be affected.

In negotiations for the last year, Concordia's Research and Education Workers Union (CREW-CSN) is demanding a viable salary and job security measures that would allow its members to confidently plan their lives from one session to the next. The overwhelming majority of workers represented are graduate students. 

"Due to ever-rising tuition costs, and general increases to the cost of living, this is the worst time to be a student in Concordia's history. Improving working conditions for TAs and RAs not only would let us live in dignity – it also makes higher education more accessible", explains Ria Mayer, a member of the bargaining committee and a graduate student in philosophy. 

The union representative added that the auxiliaries' working conditions are also the learning conditions of the students, who sometimes have more contact with their TA than with their teacher. "Our economic precariousness has a direct impact on students," she adds. 

"CREW members didn't vote for the strike lightly, but their employer left them no choice but to step up the pressure. With their mandate in hand, strike action could be called as soon as there is an impasse at the bargaining table," explains Dominique Daigneault, president of the Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM–CSN). 

"Let's hope that the employer gets the message loud and clear, and manages to obtain negotiating mandates that will allow the student community to enjoy a smooth end to the semester," concludes Benoît Lacoursière, president of the Fédération des enseignants et enseignantes du Québec (FNEEQ–CSN).  

SOURCE CSN - Confédération des syndicats nationaux