Unit 2 Bargaining Update #4 - Invigilators Bargain for Fairness in Shift Allocation
On Friday, 27th March 2026, we held our fourth bargaining session with McGill as part of our efforts to secure a stronger contract for invigilators at McGill Our committee consists of Sneha Senthil (Invigilator, Enrolment Services), Maureen Nayebare (Invigilator, Enrolment Services), Andrews Baada (Invigilator, SAA), Dallas Jokic (AGSEM President), and Guillaume Forest-Allard (our FNEEQ bargaining advisor).
As mentioned previously, proposals are often organized based on how easily both parties can reach agreement. Typically, the easier non-monetary items are discussed and signed off on first before negotiations move toward more complex issues, particularly those involving monetary matters.
We began this session by finalizing points from our previous meeting. AGSEM and McGill came to an agreement to amend the disciplinary measures portion of the Collective Agreement to align it with changes to the Labour Standards Act related to violence.
We then moved to Article 12 (Job Postings). McGill agreed to include the average length of shifts in postings, which will give invigilators a clearer sense of what to expect across departments.
For Article 13 (Shift Distribution), we presented a proposal based on member feedback to ensure a fairer and more transparent allocation of shifts. Our proposed mechanism is as follows: a) When full schedules are assigned, invigilators within the same category should receive approximately equal numbers of shifts (e.g., all Category 4 workers would be assigned similar workloads). b) When shifts are assigned individually (e.g., through Sling), priority should go to the invigilator within that category who has worked the fewest shifts that semester.
We believe this would significantly improve fairness, particularly in areas like SAA where uneven distribution has been a concern. We are currently awaiting McGill’s response on this proposition and will discuss more in our next session.
On invigilator training, McGill declined our proposal for hybrid training options in each term, citing operational and resource constraints, especially in larger hiring units like Enrolment Services. While they emphasized the flexibility of MyCourses-based training, they agreed to provide additional support to help invigilators navigate technical issues. We still believe offering both in-person and online options would be beneficial, and we will continue discussions on this.
Our initial proposal had advocated for extending the option of two-semester contracts for invigilators when they apply. McGill’s counterproposal inverted what we proposed, putting all the cards in the hands of the employer. This proposal does not give more job stability to invigilators, it just gives McGill more power over the hiring process.
McGill rejected our proposal that invigilators should be notified the night prior to their shift about what role they will be working, arguing that invigilator/circulator/float positions are interchangeable and they require the flexibility to shift roles last minute. For workers, different roles mean different work conditions, different activities, and different footwear and clothing to prepare (for example, being tasked with standing by the door to the fieldhouse in the middle of winter). McGill’s emphasis on flexibility and interchangeability ends up leaving invigilators unsure of what to expect when they come to work. McGill has also proposed that invigilators who will miss a shift are required to report this 48 hours before the shift. McGill claims to be unable to tell invigilators what role they will be working, but expects invigilators to give advance notice that is often impossible.
Our position is that McGill needs to hire more invigilators so that shifts are better covered and more predictable. We hope McGill will accept these changes rather than relying upon flexibility for them and precarity and uncertainty for invigilators.
In upcoming sessions, we’ll also begin addressing Organization and Work issues such as improving invigilator-to-student ratios and advocating for McGill to provide basic provisions like coffee and snacks during shifts.
Our next bargaining session will take place on April 13 from 9 AM to 12:00 PM.
We would love to have you join us at our next session! Please fill out this form to sign up, and we’ll be in touch! The more invigilators are involved in the process, the more power and knowledge we have:)
If you have any questions, please contact our Bargaining Committee chair, Sneha at invigilator.bc1@agsem-aeedem.ca
Love and solidarity,
Your Bargaining and Bargaining Support Committee