After more than a year of talks, the bargaining team for Syndicat des étudiant.es salarié.es de l’Université de Montréal (SÉSUM-PSAC) is very proud to announce the ratification of two tentative agreements for student assistants and non-student technical assistants.
“This agreement paves the way to tangible advances for our members, especially significant salary increases to offset inflation,” said Jonathan Michaud, who is on the SÉSUM-PSAC coordinating committee.
The collective agreement expired in April 2021 and no longer reflected current working conditions. Highlights of the agreement include:
- a 5-year contract;
- a total combined salary rise (base rates + allowances) of 29% over 5 years, in 6 separate increases;
- addition of a definition of sexual harassment and the possibility of being accompanied by a union representative when making a complaint under the University’s policy to prevent and combat sexual misconduct and violence;
- addition of contract clauses to ensure that members receive their pay within the prescribed time after contract execution;
- contracts of 35 hours or more (rather than 45 hours or more) must be posted;
- extension of deadline to file a grievance and acceleration of the arbitration process.
“As I’ve said, this agreement shows the determination of our members. Despite major changes within the organization, our solidarity did not waver,” said Yvon Barrière, PSAC-Quebec’s Regional Executive Vice-President.