TORONTO, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Classes for some 50,000 students at Toronto's York University were canceled Thursday as faculty workers went on strike over wage issues.
The contract faculty, teaching assistants and graduate students are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, and voted Wednesday night to walk out, the Globe and Mail reported.
Christina Rousseau, chairwoman of CUPE local 3903, told the newspaper the latest offer of a 9.25 percent increase over three years would make York's contract and teaching assistants among the highest paid in Canada but still falls short. She said the union also wants better job security for contract faculty and cost of living provisions.
University spokesman Alex Bilyk told the Globe the union's demands are unaffordable and not in line with settlements at other Ontario universities
York is Canada's third largest University. It was shut down by a strike by the same union for 11 weeks in 2000-01, a record for Canadian universities.
