McGill University teaching assistants end strike

McGill University’s 1,600 teaching assistants approved an agreement in principle with their employer on Thursday night, putting an end to the strike that began almost a month ago.

In a press release issued Friday morning, their union revealed that the new contract provides for wage increases of 15.5 per cent over four years, as well as “guarantees of transparency in the allocation of teaching assistant budgets.”

The hourly wage for teaching assistants, currently $33.03, will rise progressively to $38.46 as of Aug. 1, 2026.

The new collective agreement will run until July 31, 2027.

According to the union, this agreement comes at a good time, as it avoids “the worst of the negative impacts” that the labour dispute would have had on the end of the session April 30.

Nearly 1,000 courses were affected by the strike, the union said.

On its Facebook page, the McGill Graduate Student Employees’ Union (AGSEM) reported that the tentative agreement was approved by 75%, but did not specify the participation rate.

McGill’s teaching assistants had been on strike since March 25 after giving themselves an eight-week strike mandate – citing, among other things, the wage dispute.

Negotiations for a new collective agreement began eight months ago, according to the union.

Teaching assistants are graduate students enrolled at McGill University who assist and supervise students in their studies.

Generally speaking, they are responsible for correcting academic work, conducting seminars, handling certain administrative tasks and answering e-mails, as well as meeting with students outside class hours to advise them on their upcoming assignments and exams.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews