Education workers threaten Monday strike at Carleton University

Carleton University says the university will remain open for students, faculty and staff if education workers go on strike Monday morning, but some classes may be disrupted" by the job action.
CUPE local 4600 says its members "overwhelmingly" rejected the university's latest offer and plan to go on strike Monday if a new deal is not reached for more than 3,000 graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants and contract instructors.
"We wanted to update members and check in with them, and the membership was unequivocal," CUPE 4600 president Noreen Cauley-Le Fevre said in a statement.
"The employer's most recent offer does not even keep up with inflation. It doesn't address workload or education quality. Our members have spoken. Carleton needs to act now to avert a strike."
The union says its members are looking for wages that will "help catch up the more than 10 per cent they have lost to inflation over the last decade and that will bring contract instructors closer to what their counterparts at the University of Ottawa earn."
Carleton and the union have been in contract talks since August 2022.
On Friday, Carleton released its latest offer to Unit 1 (Teaching Assistants, some Research Assistants, and Service Assistants), and Unit 2 (Contract Instructors).
The offer to Unit 2 includes a salary market adjustment of 4.5 per cent retroactive to September 1, an increase to the base minimum stipend of 2 per cent retroactive to January 1, 2023 and an increase of 3 per cent in September 2023 and September 2024.
The offer to Unit 1 includes a salary increase of 3 per cent retroactive to Sept. 1, 2022 and a 2.5 per cent increase in 2023 and 2024.
The threat of a strike comes three weeks before the end of classes for the winter term and the start of exams. Exams are set to begin on April 15.
While the university says the campus will remain open if there is a strike, some classes, labs and tutorials may be affected. The university has released a list of classes that will be "disrupted" by a labour disruption.
"In the event that agreements are not reached in time, the university is taking steps to prepare for a possible labour disruption. Should a strike be declared, further updates will be provided regarding courses, exams and other campus activities," Carleton said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The university is committed to a successful end of term for students."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Survey shows employees aren’t disconnecting from work on vacation
Although remote work has cleared the way for workplace flexibility, allowing employees to work in various locations (and climates), a new study suggests it’s taking a serious toll on work-life balance.

Increase in mosquitoes 'a trend' across Canada this year. Here's why
Mosquitoes have always been pesky, but this spring it seems the bloodsuckers are thirstier than ever, a trend one expert says is increasing.
Nova Scotians’ personal information stolen in global security breach: province
The Nova Scotia government says it is investigating the theft of personal information stolen through a global privacy breach to a third-party file transfer system the province was using.
Adult victim in Que. fishing incident that killed 4 children identified
Quebec provincial police (SQ) have identified the adult victim of a fishing incident that claimed five lives over the weekend, most of them children. Keven Girard, 37, was among a group of 11 people swept up by the tide late Friday night while fishing along the shore in Portneuf-sur-Mer, a village about 550 kilometres northeast of Montreal.
Uncertainty remains for Halifax-area evacuees as wildfire 100 per cent contained
A wildfire that tore through homes and businesses in the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained, but a historic fire in southwestern Nova Scotia remains out of control.
Canada sticking with 2050 net zero targets, but progress may come faster than expected, minister says
Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the federal government is not ruling out finding ways to achieve net zero sooner than the existing 2050 goal, but would not say whether there would be a definitive commitment to move up the target.
Apple is expected to unveil a sleek, pricey headset. Is it the device VR has been looking for?
Apple appears poised to unveil a long-rumoured headset that will place its users between the virtual and real world, while also testing the technology trendsetter's ability to popularize new-fangled devices after others failed to capture the public's imagination.
Ukrainian father rushes home after Russian airstrike to find 2-year-old daughter dead in rubble
A Ukrainian man rushed to his home outside the central city of Dnipro in hopes of rescuing his family, only to find his two-year-old daughter dead and wife seriously wounded as he helped pull them from the rubble of their apartment destroyed in one of Russia's latest airstrikes of the war, authorities reported Sunday.
Error in signalling system led to train crash that killed 275 people in India, official says
The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signalling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.