Ontario’s prime court docket is ready to rule immediately on the constitutionality of a regulation that restricted raises for multiple million staff within the broader public sector, together with nurses and academics.
The Progressive Conservatives enacted the regulation, referred to as Bill 124, in 2019 as a approach to assist the federal government eradicate a deficit.
It capped wage will increase for public sector staff to at least one per cent a 12 months for 3 years.
The regulation sparked widespread outrage amongst labour teams and opposition events, with its results on the well being sector a selected focus as critics say it’s partly answerable for driving nurses out of the career or into personal nursing companies, the place the pay is considerably increased for a similar work.
Labour teams and unions representing a whole bunch of 1000’s of public sector workers challenged the regulation, and the Ontario Superior Court in late 2022 discovered it infringed collective bargaining rights, placing it down as unconstitutional.
The authorities appealed and the Appeal Court says its determination will probably be launched immediately.
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Since the regulation was struck down, even whereas pending attraction, arbitrators have awarded further retroactive pay to a number of teams of staff that had “reopener” clauses of their contracts, together with academics, nurses, different hospital staff, public servants, ORNGE air ambulance paramedics, and faculty college.
Several hospitals have advised a legislative committee conducting pre-budget hearings that the Bill 124 reopener arbitration rulings are straining their budgets, although the federal government has dedicated to reimbursing them.
“Bill 124 settlements are driving hospitals into extraordinary cash flow difficulties, threatening our financial viability and forcing delay of critical capital purchases,” Sherri McCullough, board chair of Kingston Health Sciences Centre, advised the committee final month.
Ontario’s monetary accountability officer stated in 2022 that Bill 124 was set to save lots of the province $9.7 billion on public-sector salaries and wages, although a profitable court docket problem would all however wipe that out.
That may value the province $8.4 billion over 5 years, he stated.
Though the 2019 regulation was time restricted for a three-year interval, it’s nonetheless affecting collective bargaining now due to when some earlier contracts expired and the size of some negotiations.
Ontario Provincial Police not too long ago began bargaining for a brand new contract, which might be topic to Bill 124 if the regulation was in drive.
As effectively, the province’s correctional officers late final 12 months obtained will increase of 9.5 per cent over three years after Bill 124 was struck down partway by way of their bargaining course of.
Whichever approach the Appeal Court ruling goes, one of many sides could search depart to attraction on the Supreme Court.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
Ontario Appeal Court set to rule on constitutionality of wage restraint law Bill 124