News

March 25, 2024

Many of you have reached out to us to receive clarification as to their duties during the TA strike that started this morning. The main questions that were asked are:

• Do we have to perform the TAs’ tasks during their strike (labs, grading, tutorials, etc.) even if we were not in charge of those tasks before the strike started?
• If I am a TA and a CL at the same time, am I on strike for both of my contracts?

As you may know, it is now largely recognized in Québec and other provinces that hiring or using employees to act as scabs during a strike has significant negative impacts on the work environment and is not supportive of industrial peace. Quebec has been at the avant-garde in that regard by including in its Labor Code an antiscab disposition as of the 1970s.

In light of the above, please note that the Union cannot substitute itself to McGill by telling you what tasks you should or should not perform. The responsibility to give clear instructions during a strike falls on the Employer’s shoulder. If the Union substitute itself to the Employer by telling you what tasks you can refuse to perform, it exposes itself to heavy fines should a Tribunal decide that the instructions were not accurate. However, to support you in understanding your legal obligations, we have asked for a legal advice from our parent union, the CSN.

Below you will find a summary of the opinion:

1. McGill’s public notices (directives), Q&As and “Quick guide for instructors” that were recently sent out, which claim instructors can do the work of TAs and are responsible for all TA work, “are misleading, if not simply false.”
2. The CSN opinion finds that while lecturers “maintain responsibility of their course and coordinate the activities performed by TAs (whether it be grading, laboratories, workshops, etc.)… once the TAs’ tasks are identified and dutifully allocated to a TA under a Workload Form, it is our opinion that these tasks thereafter are duties that belong to said TA for the duration of the period covered by said contract.”

The opinion cites section 109.1 (g) of the Quebec Labour Code, in support:

109.1 For the duration of a strike declared in accordance with this Code or a lockout, every employer is prohibited from:

(g) utilizing, in an establishment where a strike or lock-out has been declared, the services of an employee he employs in the establishment to discharge the duties of an employee who is a member of the bargaining unit on strike or locked out.

The opinion additionally cited various case law in stating that “considering that TAs duties are allocated in the Workload Forms consisting in the normal course of business established by parties, in our opinion, the Employer’s position that Course lecturers and other instructors can take over TAs duties during their strike is misleading and does not take in consideration the intensive case law applicable.”

3. Equally, the opinion refutes McGill’s claim that Course Lecturers are managers and therefore can replace TAs, given that MCLIU members are employees “under the Labour Code, having been accredited as such since 2011 (AM-2001-2616).”
4. If you are a TA and hold a contract as a Course Lecturer, the employer is invoking a part of the law that does not make it possible for you to complete your lecturer obligations. The opinion says that

“The Employer is choosing to apply ss. c) of s. 109.1 of the Code which states that they are prohibited from utilizing, in an establishment where a strike or lock-out has been declared, the services of an employee who is a member of the bargaining unit then on strike or locked out unless (i) an agreement has been reached for that purpose between the parties.”

5. The opinion informs that the general principle “obey now, grieve later” does not apply to orders requiring an employee to commit an illegal act. However, it does also warn that the employees who refuse to perform TAs replacement work after being asked by the employer to do so may face disciplinary measures. It also mentions that the union shall refrain from telling their members what tasks to refuse to perform as this may be construed as urging members to partake into an illegal strike.

We understand the TA strike raises complicated issues, but please read the points above carefully in the undertaking of your responsibilities. We encourage all members to find some free time to support the TAs in their action, including joining them on the picket lines in support. They are fighting for respect and better work conditions, just like MCLIU is doing for our membership. Lastly, should you have any complications with the employer, please do inform the Union immediately, so that we may protect your rights as best as possible.

MCLIU Executive Committee