Strike continues in a Canadian University
Professors at Carleton University are demanding pay raises.
The largest union at Carleton which represents contract faculty, teaching assistants went on strike. About 3,000 employees joined.
Local 4600 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) represents workers at the university And as the university approaches the end of the academic year, students and staff are worried about how the academic year will end.
Aspirants hold pickets
"I feel like my work is not appreciated," said one of the picketers. — "I do research here, so they get a lot of value out of me. I get to write papers that they can put their name on. So it makes me feel like going to Carleton was a mistake, like I could have gone to University of Ottawa and been better off right now."
Many at Carleton feel they deserve to be treated professionally and they expect the university to hear them.
"For teaching assistants and researching assistants, the wage offer from Carleton was just not enough. We're among some of the lowest paid in the province and we just we need to catch up," Pierre Blais said.
Students are concerned about their future
"I need my grades and a lot of class registration to actually get funding for this year," says a fourth-year student whose scholarship depends on grades and proof that he has completed the semester.
Negotiations between the university administration and the protesters began in August. The main obstacles are contract faculty salaries and intellectual property rights.
