Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers employed by Western University are calling on the London, Ont., school to bump their pay as they grapple with a rising cost of living.
On Tuesday, dozens of supporters and members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Local 610 gathered on Western’s UC Hill to make their voices heard. The union represents about 2,000 graduate students and about 300 postdoctoral researchers employed at Western.
PSAC Local 610 president Karuna Dsouza says the union is seeing “very high levels of poverty” among its members, adding that income received Western is not enough.
“The minimum funding that is offered by the university, inclusive of (graduate teaching assistant positions), is $13,000, and out of that we still have to pay ancillary fees which is over $1,000, which leaves really not much per month to survive on for the entire year,” Dsouza said.
“We want a liveable income from the university and that is why we are holding this rally.”
Better pay is especially needed given the value of the work provided by PSAC Local 610 members, Dsouza said.
For example, graduate teaching assistants are often tasked with helping undergraduate students in lectures and tutorials, proctoring exams, grading work and answering students’ questions through meetings and office hours.
“This is the work that the faculty depends on, this is the groundwork that graduate students do that contributes to society in terms of furthering almost every discipline at Western,” Dsouza added.
“We are the backbone of the university and I think it’s criminal that we don’t have income that sufficiently supports us.”
Mria Chowdhury, an international student who is pursuing a doctorate in the department of chemistry, agrees that she and her colleagues are undervalued.
“Every drop of blood is squeezed from us for the amount of work that we have to do on top of research. There’s so many other people who during weekends take up another job,” Chowdhury said.
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Chowdhury says the pinch of inflation is felt even harder by international students who may need to buy extra items once they arrive in Canada for the first time, such as snow boots or winter jackets.
“This is not what we expect when we come to an international university which is well-reputed,” she added.
The results of a recent survey conducted by the Society of Graduate Students (SOGS), a student-run advocacy group that represents about 6,700 graduate students, further illustrate the concerns heard at Tuesday’s rally.
“We found that a majority of students are struggling to find affordable housing and they’re forced to room with many people or, in extreme cases, seek hotels or something just to get by because they arrive in Canada and they have nowhere to stay,” said SOGS vice-president Kevin Moore.
“Surveys also showed us that 46 per cent of students can’t afford essential goods such as deodorant or tooth paste … with the inflation going up and up, it’s only getting worse and worse.”
A graduate student in the fourth year of pursuing his doctorate, Soren Coulsen says covering the rising cost of living has become one of his main challenges as his pay fails to keep up.
With the amount of hours he pours into research duties, Coulsen says he doesn’t have time to pursue a second job. He worries his financial concerns may pull focus from his education.
“For someone like me, I have more of a research-minded career trajectory, and so my productivity now, and doing the amount of research that I can, is going to be really impactful for my long-term career longevity,” Coulsen said.
“I need to do well in my studies to have really any kind of chance and success moving forward.”
In a statement to Global News, Linda Miller, Western’s vice-provost of graduate and postdoctoral studies, says administration meets regularly with SOGS and “works collaboratively to discuss and implement ongoing supports.”
Miller adds that about 2,000 graduate students are employed on campus as graduate teaching assistants. The current hourly pay for graduate teaching assistants is $47.22 per hour and these employees work for 10 hours per week or less, depending on the structure of their funding package, Miller said.
The collective agreement for graduate teaching assistants represented by PSAC Local 610 expires on Aug. 31.
“Hourly rates and hours of work for (graduate teaching assistants) will be discussed during the collective bargaining process in the months ahead,” Miller said.
As for postdoctoral researchers, Dsouza, the PSAC Local 610 president, says those contracts have already expired and that the union is currently in the collective bargaining process.
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