A two week strike by roughly 2,000 graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) at Western University is over.
The university and the Public Service Alliance of Canada Local 610 (PSAC 610), the union representing GTAs, reached a tentative agreement late Thursday, effectively ending the two week strike.
"Western University and the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Local 610... have reached a tentative agreement which the negotiating teams have jointly agreed to recommend to their respective parties," Western said in an online post.
The deal still needs to be ratified by union members and Western's Board of Governors. Until then, details of the agreement will not be publicly released.
The teaching assistants hit the picket line on April 11, calling for higher pay and a housing subsidy. They are paid only up to 10 hours a week and argue it is hard to support themselves on the current wage when they are also full-time students.
Earlier this week, Western had stated that it offered an hourly wage increase of 3 per cent that is retroactive to January 1 that would bring the pay to $48.64 an hour. It also included additional yearly increases that would lift the hourly rate to $52.38 by September 2026.
The union had stated that it will continue holding the picket lines that have blocked campus entrances until the new agreement is ratified over the next few days.
