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TORONTO, November 30, 2022–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The United Steelworkers (USW) union declared another victory for workers when the Ontario Superior Court of Justice struck down Bill 124 as a “substantial interference” with workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
“Unionized workers took Doug Ford’s bad proposal to court and we won!,” said Myles Sullivan, USW District 6 Director (Ontario and Atlantic Canada). “With this decision, workers’ rights were recognized and strengthened.”
The USW is among more than 40 unions, representing 270,000 workers across Ontario, that filed a constitutional challenge to Bill 124 in 2019.
The coalition’s argument that Bill 124 violates the collective bargaining rights enshrined in the freedom of association guarantee of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was upheld by this court’s decision.
Bill 124 would have limited compensation increases, including salaries, pensions and benefits, for millions of unionized broader public sector workers in Ontario to 1% for a three-year period, a rate more below the record-breaking inflationary increase in the cost of living.
Workers affected by Bill 124, and forming part of the coalition, include those working in provincial government, crown agencies, school boards, universities and colleges, hospitals, non-profit long-term care homes, children’s aid organizations, social service agencies, and the electricity and energy sector.
Thousands of USW members, including staff at universities and workers in long-term care homes, have had their wages unfairly suppressed by Bill 124 since 2019. Most of the workers affected by Bill 124 are women.
“Over the years, our country’s courts have repeatedly struck down legislative efforts by Liberal and Conservative governments to suppress Canadians’ fundamental rights to freedom of association and meaningful collective bargaining,” Sullivan said.
By coordinating resistance efforts, unions have previously successfully challenged legislation that violates workers’ rights, including the previous Liberal Government’s Bill 115. The courts found that Bill 115 violated the Charter rights of workers, and it was ultimately struck down.
Earlier this month, union unity forced the Ontario government to back down and repeal Bill 28, which pre-emptively ordered CUPE education workers back to work.
The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every sector of the economy across Canada and is the largest private sector union in North America with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.
Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of its strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fair pay – including better wages, benefits and pensions.
See the source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221130005658/en/
Contacts
For more information:
Myles Sullivan, USW District 6 Director, 416-243-8792
Shannon Devine, USW Communications, (cell) 416-938-4402, sdevine@usw.ca
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