A Canadian graduate student in philosophy writes in about how graduate students at several institutions are “on strike for a substantive money raise because our funding is incredibly low.”

You can read about the strike at Western University here and here.

The graduate student continues:

Several Canadian universities, including McGill University, York University, and the University of Western Ontario (Western University), are currently experiencing strikes as graduate students advocate for a living wage. The funding packages offered by these universities are insufficient for graduate students to meet their minimal living expenses.

 York University offers a funding package of around 24,000 Canadian dollars (17,200 US dollars), while McGill University provides between 20,000 and 27,000 Canadian dollars (14,000 and 19,400 US dollars). Western University offers approximately 15,000 Canadian dollars (11,000 US dollars) per year, after accounting for tuition fees (Western University does not provide a tuition waiver for PhD students).

Graduate students at the University of Toronto, which is not on strike this year, receive over 27,000 Canadian dollars annually. Despite this, the high cost of living in cities like Toronto and Montreal makes it impossible for students to survive on these funding packages.

Due to the financial strain, many PhD students are compelled to take on part-time jobs, seek financial support from their families, or even take out loans to complete their degrees. These challenges no doubt affect their academic performance and overall well-being.

Students and others at the affected institutions are invited to provide further information and share their thoughts.

The post Support for Canadian Graduate Students on Strike first appeared on Daily Nous.