Ontario court abolishes wage-cap law for public sector workers

An Ontario court has abolished a bill Tuesday that limited wages for public sector workers.

Several groups representing hundreds of thousands of public sector employees challenged the constitutionality of Bill 124. This law was passed in 2019 and restricts wage increases at one per cent per year for Ontario Public Service employees and broader public sector workers.

The Ontario government argued the bill did not violate constitutional rights.

READ MORE: Ontario Nurses’ Association pleads for Ford government to repeal Bill 124

Unions representing government workers, nurses, teachers and university faculty members said the law did not allow for meaningful collective bargaining, thereby breaching the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The conditions of the bill were to be in effect for three years as new contracts were negotiated. The province has said it was a time-limited approach to help eliminate the deficit.

Justice Markus Koehnen says the law infringes on the applicants’ rights to freedom of collective bargaining and association.

READ MORE: Hamilton nurses hold protest to repeal Bill 124