By: Karina Pogosyan
Last week, our firm published an article about the Ford government’s decision to pass Bill 28 back to work legislation, effectively removing CUPE education workers’ right to collectively bargain for the terms of their employment, by imposing the terms of their contract for the next four years. To add insult to injury, the government also invoked a rarely used notwithstanding clause to prevent a court from finding this law unconstitutional.
Things have been moving fast since and we would be remiss if we did not comment on the stunning developments of the last couple of days. In a nutshell: the government’s extraordinary measure against education workers’ right to strike was met with an even more extraordinary response from the united Ontario labour movement.
On Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, approximately 55,000 workers boldly defied the government’s legislated return to work order by going on a province-wide “until further notice” strike, despite the fact that doing so was illegal under Bill 28.
The government also asked the Ontario Labour Relations Board to rule on the legality of CUPE’s strike in the face of Bill 28. CUPE responded that its education workers will remain off the job regardless of the Labour Board’s decision, as a form of legitimate political protest.
The hearing took place over the weekend and the decision is still pending.
In the meantime, things came to an abrupt resolution on Monday, Nov. 7, when Premier Doug Ford relented and promised to repeal this controversial law after it became apparent that Ontario’s broader labour movement composed of both, public and private sector unions were preparing for a multi-sector strike on Monday, Nov. 14, in support of CUPE. Had the government not backed down, an even wider and more widespread labour disruption would have ensued, surely costing more in both economic losses and political points. It thus became increasingly clear that digging in on Bill 28, was not going to get the government anywhere it wanted to be.
Time will tell what the political cost will be from the Ford government’s decision to use the notwithstanding clause in mandating education workers back to work.
The moral of the story?
Employees can and do make a difference when they share a common goal or unite over the same idea. This may be more apparent in unionized workforces, but it holds true in the private sector too: employees can either act individually or in concert in ways that can be very disruptive to a business when they feel (rightly or wrongly) mistreated.
For example, there is no quicker way for an employer to create low employee morale, decrease productivity and increase turnover than by failing to listen and to make consistent and transparent decisions that account for employees’ concerns. The end result will be the same – the number of disgruntled employees will only grow and the exodus of good employees you want to keep will be sure to follow.
At Seabrook Workplace Law, we are regularly sought out by our employer clients to perform climate reviews for their organizations to pinpoint the source(s) of tension in the workforce and prepare a roadmap for clients to better employee relations. Contact us today to discuss performing a comprehensive climate review that accounts for all your potential legal risks and exposures.
