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Invigilators to vote on pressure tactics, including strike

No movement on salary demands, according to union

Two days before the start of exams, invigilators will vote about whether or not to go on strike.

Invigilators comprise a unit of AGSEM, and have been negotiating their first contract with the University since last March, after 80 per cent of them voted to join the union. There are around 500 invigilators unionized under AGSEM.

Invigilators are currently paid $10 an hour and are seeking an increase of $5.25, according to members of the bargaining team. McGill has thus far offered a 1.2 per cent increase, or a raise of 12 cents.

The union is also seeking recognition of seniority, and the establishment of a standardized pay scheme.

Lerona Lewis, AGSEM president and a member of the bargaining team, said that the pay increase is reasonable, but that the union has seen no movement on the demand.

The union is meeting with the administration on Monday with the help of a conciliator appointed by the provincial government.

Administration officials were not available for comment on Friday afternoon.

It is unclear what an invigilator strike would look like, given the seasonal nature of invigilator work and the fact that many invigilators work in other capacities at the University.

McGill fired course lecturers who were also members of MUNACA when the union went on strike in September; in 2008, when TAs went on strike, the University fired AGSEM members from their additional positions on campus.