Ontario appeals decision that struck down wage-limiting law for public sector workers

The Ontario government is appealing a court decision that struck down a law limiting wages for public-sector workers.

In the notice of appeal filed in Ontario’s top court on Thursday, Dec. 29, the province argues the judge erred in ruling that Bill 124 infringes on the applicants’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.

In his decision on Nov. 29, Justice Markus Koehnen deemed the law unconstitutional.

Groups representing several hundred thousand public-sector employees had challenged the constitutionality of the law passed in 2019, which capped wage increases at one per cent per year for three years.

The province had argued the law did not infringe constitutional rights, saying the charter only protects the process of bargaining, not the outcome, and said the bill was a time-limited approach to help eliminate the deficit.

The appeal filing drew sharp criticism from the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), who say they are “outraged” by the Ford government’s move.

“Bill 124 has severely impacted workers’ living standards and worsened issues like the staffing crisis in our overburdened healthcare system,” said OFL president Patty Coates.

“Right now, the Ford government should be focused on taking meaningful action to address the simultaneous cost-of-living and health care crises in this province. Instead, they are choosing to spend public dollars to fight workers in court.”

The NDP issued a statement saying “Ford must back down from appealing that decision.”

“Ford’s unfair legislation restricted public sector workers’ compensation, even as many affected workers risked their lives each day going to work through the pandemic. All Ontarians have paid the price for Ford’s wage-capping Bill 124 — just look at the staffing crises that have hit our hospitals and schools as workers have left because they felt disrespected, overworked and underpaid.”