I don't have the exact figures. However, I remember seeing a survey circulated during the pandemic. We were at 64% of university students with mental health issues. I can't say it's the same numbers for post-docs, but I think the level is high as well. If you look at the level of funding for post-docs who are fortunate enough to be unionized, the salary floor, which is the minimum salary the university has to pay them, ranges from $33,000 to $48,000. The research professor can pay more, but there isn't necessarily an incentive to do so.
Earlier we were talking about the level of funding, but you also have to look at it on a project basis. The professor-researcher is given funding for a project. At the end, if he has not met his commitments, his funding won't be renewed. So, if he gets $130,000 to pay post-docs, is he going to choose to pay two at $60,000 each or three at $40,000? The answer is simple. He will choose to pay three at $40,000 because he'll want more papers produced. Meanwhile, those three $40,000 students are going to be working under difficult conditions.
If this continues, minimum wage will catch up with our post-docs' salaries. Certainly, this raises a mental health issue. When you're a post-doc, in your 30s, that's often when you start a family. But starting a family on $40,000 a year isn't easy. A lot of post-docs come from abroad, so they come with their spouses, who don't necessarily have the ability to find a job in the—