Following skilful negotiation, the bargaining team representing student employee members of the Association syndicale des travailleurs étudiants et des travailleuses étudiantes de l’UQTR (ASTRE) has reached a tentative agreement with Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR).
“I myself hail from the academic sphere. I’m always thrilled to see healthy collaboration yield major gains for our members,” says Sébastien Paquette, Executive Vice-President for PSAC-Quebec. “This tentative agreement not only improves their economic outlook, but creates stability for years to come.”
Here is a summary of the monetary and non-monetary gains included in the agreement:
- Union leave hours will be increased
- Union leave pay will be improved
- Union leave not used for bargaining will be transferrable to the union leave bank for general business
- A new job class will become available to members
- Key information about job contracts will be included and expanded
- Graduate students will be able to exceed the 300-hour-per-session average once they have submitted their research project (essay, thesis, or dissertation), provided they do not exceed 40 hours per week
- Protections in the event of job contract cancellation will be enhanced: longer notice period (48 hours, up from 36) and higher payouts (15%, up from 12%)
- The 36-month cap on seniority retention periods in the event of medical leave or injury at work will be eliminated: members will retain seniority for the duration of leave taken for these reasons
- Timelines for requests to increase hours in an active contract will be improved
- The article on employer-paid training will be enhanced
- An “Exam invigilator” category will be added to the pay grid
- Wages will be adjusted for members retroactive to April 1, 2025 (new wage increase date will now align with other existing units)
- Two economic increases will be applied within a span of six months (on November 30, 2024, and April 1, 2025)
- Bonus pay of $0.75/h will be added for pool employees working between 5:30 am and 8:00 am
- Exam invigilators travelling to Michel-Sarazin and CIPP pavilions will be paid for an additional 20 minutes
- There will be a possibility for Notetakers to be paid for up to 15 extra minutes to check over their notes
- The allowance for lack of collective insurance will be increased from 3% to 4[AM1] %
- National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30) will be added as a recognized holiday
- The right to maternity leave benefits will be granted after fewer hours worked (reduced from 200 to 150 hours)
- Term of paid maternity leave will be increased from 12 to 15 weeks
- Wage catch-up of 2.8% will be applied to job classes with the lowest wages on the pay grid (e.g., an hourly wage of $17.35 will increase to $17.85 when the catch-up is applied)
- Economic increases will be based on the government wage policy (GWP) rate or the negotiated rate applicable on the last day of the collective agreement cycle, whichever is higher, in order to reduce the impact of the negotiation on member salaries
- Five-year collective agreement
- Annual economic increases:
- 2025: 2.6% (or GWP)
- 2026: 2.5% (or GWP)
- 2027: 3.5% (or GWP)
- 2028: 1.5% (or GWP)
- 2029: 1.5% (or GWP)
A ratification vote will be conducted in early September 2025. The exact date is to be confirmed.