Research assistants at Simon Fraser University are locked in a bitter three-year-long fight to win benefits, pensions and higher pay following years of frustration over mounting costs and stagnant pay.
The union represents teaching assistants and other workers at SFU and has been at the forefront of a three-year fight to win basic labour protections for research assistants, who often make less than minimum wage because of how their contracts have been structured by the university. “Research assistant” is a broad term for a broad job. Typically, professors at universities like SFU directly hire students to support research on any number of projects, some backed by federal funding councils. That could encompass anything from digging through archives to testing samples in a lab. In some cases, the salary range is determined largely by that investigator, rather than an established pay scale.
Historically, that distinction has meant research workers at SFU did not receive medical benefits. Their pay was considered a stipend, not a salary, meaning there was no guarantee their compensation was commensurate with the province’s minimum wage. But employers and unions sometimes opt for a “voluntary” process, which is seen as less confrontational. At the time, SFU agreed to provide a prospective list of people who were then union members by May 2019.
But the union and school still disagree on which workers those are, which has hindered progress at the bargaining table. Vincent says SFU’s most recent counter-offer to the union included a clause allowing them to reverse their proposal if their understanding of the arbitrator’s decision changes. “We have [policies] for teaching assistants, so there are limits on how many hours you’re required to work in a week, for example. That’s all made explicit. So for some of these jobs, there are no limitations,” Pearson said.