Work-study students do important work on campus – tutoring, shelving books, leading campus tours, web designing, and event planning, to name a few. A student in a work-study position is paid 75% by the Ontario Work-Study Program (OWSP)/University and 25% by the department. According to OWSP, students are only allowed to make $2000 per semester, even though tuition for Canadian students is typically $2500 or higher per semester.

This makes work-study the cheapest and most profitable group of workers on campus. If something unexpected comes up at work and you have to put in extra hours to deal with it, you won’t be paid for those hours because OWSP doesn’t factor it in. You’re also not guaranteed a minimum of hours because it’s up to the department to decide if there’s a need. Some call the OWSP a “financial aid” program – is it “aid” for the student or “aid” for Ryerson to hire cheap workers?

Flexibility and profitability for who?

Work-study makes you cheaper and more disposable in the eyes of the Employer. Because you only get paid for the hours that you work, Ryerson gets away with not having to pay for sick days. And, if there’s a permanent full-time job posting you have to wait until the posting goes public before you can even apply for it, while the unionized full-timers have first dibs on it.

Work-study students are very much like casual workers in the sense that you have to reapply for the same job year after year, sometimes having to be re-interviewed for the same position, and on top of it all, there is the stress of not being rehired at all or being able to move up just because someone has a personal issue with you.

Experiential-learning in what?

Work-study is supposed to give students an opportunity to “try out” jobs that they otherwise wouldn’t be hired for because of inexperience and lack of education. However, experiential-learning in the workplace means learning about both sides of the story, not just the one that Ryerson tells you.

It’s time for change

We believe that work-study is a valuable program, but we also believe that student workers should have the same opportunities and protections as their full-time coworkers. Student workers must have rights…and a voice.

On March 8, make a choice for YOUR future, and the future of all work-study students who will come after you.

Vote YES for OPSEU.