The province says Ontario’s wage cap law for public sector workers does not violate constitutional rights.
Groups representing hundreds of thousands of public sector employees are challenging the constitutionality of Bill 124, a law passed in 2019 that limits wage increases to one per cent a year for Ontario Public Service employees as well as workers in the broader public sector .
The case began last week and was heard by unions representing government workers, teachers, nurses and university professors among others.
They argue that the law has removed meaningful collective bargaining, thereby violating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The bill’s provisions were to run for three years as new contracts were negotiated and the Tories had said it was a time-bound approach to help plug the deficit.
The province argues that the Charter only protects the process of negotiation, not the outcome.
“That’s what the law does, it limits an effect,” said government attorney Zachary Green.
“Within this substantial limitation on what your salary might look like at the end of the negotiation, applicants remain free to engage in a meaningful negotiation process.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on September 19, 2022.
