International students especially eager for an end to University of Manitoba faculty strike

Some international students at the University of Manitoba say they're feeling helpless, now that a strike by faculty has put their classes on an indefinite pause.

Students who come from abroad have a lot at stake in their post-secondary education, said Tino Hove, a business student originally from Zimbabwe.

They often travel long distances to study here, leaving family and friends behind. They pay roughly three times as much in tuition as their domestic counterparts, he said. 

"As international students, we already don't have a lot of ways to defend ourselves against anything, right? We just kind of have to sit there and kind of twiddle your fingers," said Hove, who is in his final year of studies. 

"What happens if classes are delayed and then next semester my parents can't afford $4,000, $6,000 in four months to pay for the rest of my school. What happens to me there?"

Hove doesn't have to cope with the same challenges as other international students. He only has one class before graduation, and his studies will go ahead because the instructor is not involved with the strike. Not all faculty are members of the University of Manitoba Faculty Association.

Many other students have had their class schedule wiped clean. 

The University of Manitoba Faculty Association started picketing on Tuesday. The union has been fighting for higher wages, arguing the current pay schedule is causing persistent retention and recruitment issues.

The university ranks second to last out of Canada's 15 research-based institutions in terms of salary. 

The average salary for a University of Saskatchewan teaching staff, another research university, was $158,550 in 2019-20, excluding the medical and dental faculties. At the U of M, it was $131,075 that year.

Hove doesn't think faculty are the villains in this negotiation deadlock. "They are also trying to look after their own interests," he said.

But it doesn't help with the financial challenges that persist for international students. Hove does part-time work and started an online retail platform and delivery service to make ends meet.

"I personally come from a country that economically is not in the strongest position," he said.

"The longer anything takes for me to get to a stage where I can work full-time and financially support myself, the harder my life becomes."