A “draconian” measure that would have cost exemplary school support employees C$4,000 (US$2,900) per day for striking in the Canadian province of Ontario has sparked outrage across the nation. It has sparked worries over core labour rights that, if passed, could be eliminated. The concerned legislation was tabled by Doug Ford’s conservative administration.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees called for a strike on Friday in protest of a salary increase
The bill requires education employees to sign contracts and imposes severe fines on walkouts. The law has drawn harsh criticism from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who expressed fear that it will “suspend people’s rights and liberties.”
The Canadian Union of Public Employees called for a strike on Friday in protest of a salary increase, and the government has accelerated Bill 28 in response. The organisation, which represents 55,000 educators, has been requesting an 11.3% pay hike for its members. They contend that because they are frequently the lowest-paid workers, slow pay growth and excessive inflation have severely hurt them.
The bill is being implemented through the notwithstanding clause, a rarely utilised legal device
The administration has recommended a 2.5% annual raise for those with the lowest incomes and a 1.5% raise for everyone else. If the law is approved, workers will lose their legal right to strike and bargain for the first time ever in the history of the nation. The union will be required to pay US$3,66,497 as compensation for striking, while the workers will be fined US$2,900.
The bill is being implemented through the notwithstanding clause, a rarely utilised legal device. For a five-year term, the provision enables provincial governments to ignore some provisions of the charter. It is important to emphasise that the measure violates both the Human Rights Code and the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. But according to the government, their current priority is averting a strike.
The act has been dubbed “exceedingly troublesome” by Canada’s justice minister, but experts say there is little the federal government can do to stop it.
Lawyers are also concerned about the government’s pre-emptive use of the clause
“The Ford government is essentially saying it is above the law. This is not just an attack on the fundamental charter rights, human rights and labour rights of education workers. It’s also an attack on our constitutional democracy and the rule of law,” Adrienne Telford, a constitutional and labour lawyer, told Guardian. In 2015, Canada’s highest court recognised the right of employees to strike.
“Workers weren’t even allowed to exercise their right to strike. It’s pre-emptively taken that away. But what’s even more shocking is that the government isn’t replacing their fundamental right to strike with the right to arbitration,” she said. “Basically, this is an attempt by the government to avoid having to appear before an independent arbitrator and not get what it wants.”
