The MoveUP union and Capilano University fail to find common ground to start negotiations that would address the urgent issue of student employees’ stagnant wages
Laura Morales (she/her) // Co-Editor-In-Chief
Although the rate of pay for university undergraduate students is set by the Government of Canada at $18.84 per hour in the lowest step—the highest being $28.30—Capilano University student employees continue to make the current $17.85 minimum wage in B.C. According to Barry Magrill, faculty member and supervisor of the Student Digital Ambassadors since the positions were created five years ago, student employees earned roughly $3 an hour above minimum wage. However, their wages stagnated over time as minimum wage increased. According to the B.C. provincial government’s website, by May 2023, student employee pay stood at $16.43 per hour, which is $0.78 above the $15.65 minimum wage at the time. When the minimum increased to $16.75 on June 1, 2023, student wages saw their first adjustment in years, and subsequent increases have remained tied to minimum wage.
As outlined in the Courier’s previous coverage of this issue, one of the main reasons why student employees started organizing to join the MoveUP union at the beginning of 2024 is the belief that the value they bring to the university is not reflected in their wages. At the certification hearing held by the BC Labour Relations Board (LRB) on March 13, 2025, student employees were officially unionized with MoveUP as their bargaining authority. However, new hurdles have emerged in the path to fair wages for student employees.
Aware of the situation, MoveUP representative Nathan Beausoleil met with the university’s Labour Relations’ Director to discuss which salary grouping student employees should fall under as unionized employees. According to the collective agreement, when the LRB decides that “a new position is included within the unit, a salary grouping for the position will be discussed.” To place a group of employees in a salary grouping, the employees need to be given a score based on the ten factors listed in Appendix F from the Collective Agreement (chart available on our website).
Appendix F Point Value Pay Group Table
According to Beausoleil, the lowest score that a student employee could get is 75, if they received the minimum score in all factors except for education. It is safe to assume that all student employees have completed secondary school, which gives them a grade of 3.0. The lowest pay group in the salary scale is Group 6, which requires a score between 71-90. Effective July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025, the beginning wage for Group 6 is $22.21 per hour. These calculations were shared with CapU’s Labour Relations representatives in April of this year, with the clarification that some student employee roles are likely to score higher. For example, the position of program assistant at the student life department requires the supervision of volunteers and would have a different score in categories such as Character of Supervision and Scope of Supervision. In another example, student ambassador positions at the Registrar’s Office in charge of recruitment would have a higher score in the Contacts category, and all student employees with more than 30 credits would get a higher score in Education.
On the other hand, on May 25, David Ling—CapU’s Director of Labour Relations—argued in an email exchange with MoveUP representatives, that student employees should not be placed in the existing groupings or measured with the existing parameters since they are part of an agreement that was “negotiated without the consideration of student employees being included into the bargaining unit, with terms throughout the collective agreement (CA) indicating that student employees cannot do bargaining unit work.” In other words, the administration argues that it is not reasonable to expect that an agreement that was negotiated with full-time staff in mind should apply to student employees, who are hired part-time and only for roles that complement those of full-time staff. What the director proposed following a meeting held on May 23 with MoveUP representatives Nathan Beausoleil and Chris Shier, according to an email sent by Ling to the representatives, is that a Letter of Understanding—a legal agreement between CapU and student employees—should be drafted and a new salary group should be created specifically for this recently unionized group.
According to Shier, the argument provided by the Director of Labour Relations to have a separate salary group for student employees with lower wages is that student employees are not meant to make a living wage, as he says, “It’s a supplementary income, not primary.” The union strongly disagrees with this position, arguing that it is primary income for many student employees. The Courier interviewed a program assistant and asked whether their student employee wage was supplementary, to which they said, “No, it’s survival money. My rent, food and transportation depend on it.” Moreover, the union defends that when a student is performing labour, they are employees, and they shouldn’t be receiving less because of their age and their status as a student.
The Courier reached out to CapU’s communications officer to request a comment regarding the pay group determination of student employees, and whether they intend to maintain the same wages for student employees’ diverse positions across departments. On May 30, Melissa Nichol, Strategic Director for the department of People, Culture & Diversity, responded with the following statement:
“CapU is currently in negotiations with MoveUP, and therefore unable to provide specific updates or commentaries. The Labour Relations Code mandates that both employers and trade unions must bargain collectively in good faith and make every reasonable effort to conclude a collective agreement. This confidentiality and trust help to ensure the process stays fair, respectful, and productive for everyone involved.
Directly negotiating with individual union members, bypassing the certified bargaining agent, could be interpreted as a failure to bargain in good faith. Student employees are encouraged to stay connected with their MoveUP representative for updates, as a direct line to the bargaining table.
Any formal communication related to this process will be shared through the appropriate joint channels (email, website update) once an agreement is reached. CapU is committed to working with MoveUP to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes to support our student employees.”
Melissa Nichol, Strategic Director for the department of People, Culture & Diversity
Note: The writer of the piece was a student employee at the time of the request.
CapU’s administration won’t share their position regarding student employee pay group determination before they can reach an agreement with MoveUP, in order to keep the negotiation process confidential and in good faith. According to Shier, however, negotiations were not taking place at this point. Neither party has agreed on basic terms that would allow a negotiation to take place, he explained, which is whether the CA applies to student employees or not. According to the university, the LRB’s certification was, “based on threshold numbers, not the unique structure, role, or employment expectations of student workers.” Put differently, the university argues that the union cannot affirm that student employees should automatically receive all the benefits listed in the CA based on their successful application to be included in MoveUP’s bargaining unit. MoveUP representatives agree that there are items on the CA that need to be revised to accommodate the nature of student labour, with special care of maintaining the tasks of these roles as complementary to full-time staff positions and appropriate to the compensation received.
On June 27, during the celebratory event held by MoveUP for student employees, Beausoleil received a message from CapU’s Director of Labour Relations, agreeing that the CA, “applies fully to student employees.” Still, the Director maintained that some articles need to be reviewed in the upcoming round of bargaining, mainly the pay grid placement. The union considered this a favourable starting point for negotiations, but with a long path to reach an agreement on salary grouping for student employees.