Ontario has passed back-to-work bill on eve of education workers’ strike

Ontario has passed legislation requiring education support workers to sign a four-year contract and making a planned strike by tens of thousands of educators on Friday illegal.

Bill 28, also known as the Keeping Students in Class Act, uses the notwithstanding clause to impose a contract on workers while making any job action illegal. The bill was tabled on Monday and passed Thursday afternoon.

“Once a bill receives royal assent, it becomes law and enters into force on that day, unless the act provides otherwise,” a representative for Education Minister Stephen Lecce tells CP24.com. “It may provide that it takes effect on the day specified in the act or on a day fixed by the Governor in Council’s order.”

Mediation between education support workers and the Ontario government had broken down earlier in the day, with neither party reaching an agreement.

“We were informed this afternoon that mediation had concluded,” the union’s bargaining committee said. “It is clear that this government had no intention of negotiating.” The time and effort they have spent on Bill 28, which removes education workers’ Charter Rights, should have been spent on a deal that would have respected workers while also ensuring that students’ desperately needed services are secured.”

Minutes after the bargaining committee issued its statement, Lecce stated at a news conference that the province made a “good faith effort,” but the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) refused to budge and withdraw their strike threat.

“To keep classrooms open for Ontario’s two million students, CUPE has left us with no choice but to pass the Keeping (Students) in Class Act,” he said.

Despite the legislation, the union has stated that its members will go on strike “until further notice” beginning Friday.

However, according to Lecce, “if they go ahead with it, it will be illegal.”

Large fines for those who defy Bill 28 are among those tools, with fines of up to $4,000 for individuals who strike and $500,000 for unions that organize them.

“We will use every tool at our disposal to send a clear, unequivocal message: schools should be open, and there will be consequences for breaking the law,” Lecce said.

The union has stated that it will fight the fines and, if necessary, pay them on behalf of striking members.

“We are providing clear instructions to our members,” Candace Rennick, CUPE’s national secretary-treasurer, said. “If you are fined while on the picket line, report it to your president, notify the union, and we will provide you with further instructions.” We are currently seeking legal counsel on this.”

“If the Ontario government wants to clog the justice system with $4,000 per member per day fines, I say bring it on.”

Talks Break Down

Bill 28 mandates a four-year contract for more than 55,000 education support workers, including custodians, early childhood educators, education assistants, and administrative personnel. A 2.5 percent annual wage increase for individuals earning less than $43,000 per year is included in the contract, as is a 1.5 percent increase for all other employees.

CUPE has been advocating for an 11.7 percent raise, which would equate to about $3.25 more per hour across the board.

To reach an agreement, the union said it made “significant moves” with its proposal. On Thursday, they confirmed that their latest offer was roughly half of what was originally proposed, implying a 6% wage increase.

“This government was looking for a bargain basement deal but didn’t respect students, workers, or families.” So they’re going to legislate it,” Laura Walton, president of CUPE’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, explained.

“What is being implemented today is legislation.” “There is no deal,” she added. “A deal is something that two parties agree on collectively.” This is a bullying technique.”

The Ontario government, on the other hand, stated that it would not consider any other proposals unless the threat of a strike—a common bargaining tactic—was lifted.

This appeared to be confirmed by Lecce on Thursday.

“We hoped all along to reach an agreement that is right for students, right for parents, right for workers, and right for taxpayers in this province.” But CUPE refused to budge. They refused to remove a strike from the equation.”

When CUPE representatives spoke to reporters Thursday afternoon, they were visibly upset and frustrated because negotiations had broken down. They stated that their strike could last indefinitely unless a deal is reached or their members decide to end it.

The use of the notwithstanding clause by the government, according to CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, is a “nuclear approach to collective bargaining.”

“They have no idea what they have started here.”

According to labor and civil rights organizations, Ontario’s use of the notwithstanding clause is “dangerous” and “draconian.”

Premier Doug Ford previously used Section 33 of the Charter to pass legislation restricting third-party election advertising and threatened to use it again in 2018 to reduce the size of the Toronto City Council. On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Ford and told him that using the notwithstanding clause was “wrong and inappropriate.”