Update: On February 12, 2024, a majority of the Ontario Court of Appeal of Ontario found that Bill 124 violated the collective bargaining rights for unionized employees in the broader provincial public sector. On February 23, 2024, Bill 124 was repealed. This is a landmark win for PIPSC members and workers everywhere in upholding the right to fair collective bargaining.
Since 2023, PIPSC has been reopening collective agreements that were reached during the Bill 124 moderation periods to renegotiate pay. To date, we have reached six Bill 124 settlements to right the wrongs imposed by the Ford government’s discriminatory legislation.
Our lawsuit against the Ford government’s Bill 124 has officially begun, with court hearings starting on September 12, 2022.
Bill 124 is a direct attack on the rights of workers in Ontario. It allows the provincial government to impose salary caps of 1% per year on public sector workers, disrespecting them and the work that they do every day to keep this province running.
For the past 3 years, as workers in health care and education burned out on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bill 124 froze their wages, and interfered with their Charter-protected rights to collectively bargain them. Now, as inflation skyrockets, workers are essentially experiencing a massive pay cut.
With court hearings finally underway, we want to maximize pressure on the government to repeal Bill 124 by flooding their inboxes with messages from workers across the province.
Our friends at the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) created a simple tool for you to use to send your message. If you believe in fair collective bargaining, decent work, and quality public services – will you take a moment to send a message now?
In 2019, the OFL along with a coalition of unions including PIPSC, filed lawsuits against the Ford government’s Bill 124 – because no government should be able to pass legislation that restricts workers’ rights to free and fair collective bargaining.
If this bill is allowed to go ahead, it sets a dangerous precedent for all of us.
The 1% cap on wages affects women-dominated sectors including health care and education, while excluding others, like the police.
It also disproportionately impacts racialized women who are among the lowest paid and most precariously employed – and is one of the biggest drivers of the deepening staffing crisis that’s threatening to cripple Ontario’s health care system.
So much is on the line, but together we can win this fight.