Dear Minister Whiteside,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the BC Labour Relations Code Review Panel’s recommendations to the Minister of Labour. As representatives of the Alma Mater Society of UBC Vancouver, Canada’s largest student society representing over 62,000 undergraduate and graduate students, we are writing with concern for our members. Graduate research assistants play a leading role in the research which drives our university forward and maintains UBC’s status as one of the world’s best institutions of higher learning. Research can be both mentally and physically challenging work; yet, graduate-assisted research is not considered work under the labour code, which has dire consequences for the well-being and safety of research assistants.
Not being recognized as workers means research assistants can end up working many hours informally, without compensation, effectively doing free labour for the University. Yet, those same workers have no right to negotiate with UBC for better pay or benefits. Graduate students, who are often given stipends that pay less than the minimum wage, bear the heaviest burden of our affordability crisis. The AMS’ 2024/2025 Services Report shows that, despite comprising only 20% of UBC’s student population, graduate students accounted for 49% of food bank visits. These same students, who struggle to put food on the table for themselves and their families, are also the most likely to work overtime without pay.
Without the right to form a union, research assistants cannot speak out against exploitative or hazardous work practices or bargain for better pay and conditions. Researchers may face discrimination or harassment in their hiring process or while working, often without access to support systems that are available to other employees. This often means navigating difficult situations on their own, without a formalized process to handle serious workplace violations and disputes. The result is an unwelcoming and unfair work environment where researchers feel that they would rather keep their heads down and be complacent, leading to an exploitative and toxic work culture, burnout, and increased strain on mental health.
Allowing graduate research assistants to unionize would mean advancing the well-being, safety, security, and dignity of UBC’s hardest-working, yet most undercompensated, workers. This would benefit the University too, as researchers will work more productively under less stress and continue to pay UBC dividends through their hard work. This is a step that many other major Canadian universities have already taken; in the U15, this includes the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, Laval University, McGill University, the University of Montreal, the University of Ottawa, Queen’s University, the University of Saskatchewan, and the University of Waterloo. Yet, UBC, one of the country’s largest and most research-intensive institutions, has lagged behind its peers in this regard.
We request that the rights and work of graduate research assistants be recognized; that the Labour Relations Code be amended accordingly to ensure graduate research assistants and other student workers are protected under the definition of work and that their right to unionize be explicitly protected.
Best regards,
Solomon Yi-Kieran, Vice President External, AMS of UBC
Riley Huntley, President, AMS of UBC
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