Over 30,000 public servants in Ontario have won a pay raise of nearly 10 per cent after having their wages frozen by the Ford government’s Bill 124.
https://twitter.com/OPSEU/status/1749839212466081940
The pay hike comes following a weekend of negotiations between the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and Arbitrator Gerry Lee.
As a result of mediation and arbitration, the union has won the largest increase it has seen since 2012, a 9.5 per cent pay increase over the next three years.
“This Award is a direct result of the unwavering solidarity of OPS Unified members who refused to back down,” the OPSEU/SEFPO said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Their perseverance is what moved the needle in our favour and what enabled to win the largest increases these workers have seen in nearly 12 years!” they continued.
The deal covers across the board wage increases of three percent for each year when salaries were frozen at one per cent due to Bill 124.
Year 1 – 2022 – 3%
Year 2 – 2023 – 3.5%
Year 3 – 2024 – 3%
“These historic gains will help reverse the harmful impacts of the Ford government’s unconstitutional wage restraint legislation that were felt by all OPS Unified members,” the union said.
The Ford government’s Bill 124 became law in 2019. It placed a cap on public sector wages at one per cent or less per year over a three-year period.
Later in November of 2022, the bill was ruled as unconstitutional by an Ontario court under the argument that the cap interfered with the collective bargaining rights of employees and unions during contract negotiations.
That same day, the province announced it was appealing the decision claiming the bill only limits negotiations on the yearly one per cent raise cap and would not impede other monetary negotiations.
In addition, the provincial government said the law was also meant to help relieve its budget deficit at the time it was introduced.
