OPSEU/SEFPO demands repeal of Bill 124 as court challenge begins

TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2022 /CNW/ - OPSEU/SEFPO joined fellow labour unions on the front steps of the Superior Court of Justice today to demand that the Ford government repeal Bill 124, as hearings for the constitutional challenge to the bill, brought forward by unions across the province, began.

"Doug Ford and his ministers love travelling the province saying that they're on the side of Ontario workers, but that's the worst kind of political opportunism and hypocrisy," said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. "If the Ford government cared about Ontario workers, they would repeal Bill 124 immediately, and make this entire court challenge unnecessary. We're only here today because they refuse to act in the best interests of workers."

Bill 124 caps public sector compensation at one per cent, at a time when inflation is at a forty-year high. OPSEU/SEFPO, and other unions, are arguing that by limiting the compensation increases that can be gained through the bargaining process, the Ford government is violating the right to meaningful collective bargaining guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Bill 124 also violates the Charter's equality rights by imposing these unfair compensation limits disproportionately, in sectors that are largely dominated by women workers.

"Bill 124 is fundamentally unfair," said OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer Laurie Nancekivell. "It targets certain kinds of workers and removes their Charter-protected rights."

"This government loves talking about fairness for Ontarians, but this legislation creates a fundamentally unfair situation, where hundreds of thousands of workers are barred from negotiating reasonable wage increases at a time of astronomical inflation," added Nancekivell.

The one percent yearly limit to public sector wage increases is dwarfed by inflation rates that currently sit at 7.6 per cent, and which reached a high of 8.1 per cent earlier in the summer.

"We're here today, with our sisters, brothers and allies in the labour movement, to make one thing clear to Doug Ford: Bill 124 is unethical, unconstitutional and we won't stop until it's repealed or overturned," said Hornick. "We've taken our fight to the courts, and we're taking it to the streets too – to build our solidarity and support the fight for fair collective bargaining, decent work and high-quality public services."

SOURCE Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO)

JP Hornick, OPSEU/SEFPO President, 416-806-9526, [email protected]