55,000 Ontario education workers strike despite ‘draconian’ new anti-labor law

Defying new legislation fast-tracked by right-wing Ontario Premier Doug Ford outlawing strikes, more than 55,000 education workers in the Canadian province hit the picket lines Friday, vowing to stay in the streets for “as long as it takes” to secure a contract they feel is fair.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) launched what it called “a wake-up call and a call to arms for organized labor across Canada” after Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government on Thursday enacted Bill 28—the Keeping Students in Class Act—which imposes contracts on CUPE members and prohibits them from striking on pain of a $3,000(USD) daily fine per employee and up to a $371,000(USD) penalty for the union.

The new law also utilizes the notwithstanding clause to shield against constitutional challenges. The invocation of this controversial legal mechanism has occurred twice in Ontario’s history—both times under Ford.

Liberal Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Bill 28 an “attack on one of the most basic rights available, that of collective bargaining.”

CUPE national president Mark Hancock said in a statement that “this isn’t just about education workers, this is about the rights of all working people across the country.”

“The message from our leaders here in Ontario is clear,” Hancock added. “Our members are united, and they intend to fight—and they have Canada’s largest union in their corner and we are going to fight alongside them.”

According to the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL):

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines Canadians’ right to a free and fair collective bargaining process, and the Supreme Court of Canada has found that the right to exercise economic sanctions (i.e., the right to strike) forms an integral part of that process. In addition to violating workers’ constitutional right to strike, the Keeping Students in Class Act enforces a concessionary contract on Ontario’s 55,000 education workers—the lowest paid workers in the education system—many of whom are women workers and workers of color.

The bill unilaterally imposes woefully low wage increases—well below inflation—on low-income employees who have previously been subjected to three years of 1% increases… inadequate protections against job cuts; no paid prep time for education workers who work directly with students; a cut to the sick leave/short-term disability plan; and many other imposed terms which penalize employees. All told the imposed compensation changes amount to a mere $200 in the pockets of workers earning on average $39,000 and facing 7% inflation.

Besides, Karen Brown, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, said that by enacting a law that forces a contract on CUPE members, the Ford administration has chosen the “most draconian manner of legislating away two fundamental rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: the right to bargain collectively, and the right to strike.”

Thousands of demonstrators turned out in Toronto’s Queen’s Park on Friday to denounce the Ford administration and show solidarity with the striking workers.