Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
TORONTO – The Ontario Labor Relations Board has finished its hearings to determine the legality of an education worker strike and will issue its decision shortly.
Some 55,000 workers left their jobs on Friday to protest a government law that forced them to enter into a contract and deprived them of the right to strike.
The government is seeking a ruling that their abandonment is illegal, while the Canadian Union of Civil Servants (CUPE) argues that the strike is a legitimate form of political protest.
According to the government’s arguments, it matters little whether the contract that now binds 55,000 employees was negotiated with them or imposed on them.
Government attorney Ferina Murji said strikes are prohibited under any contract, not just those that have been ratified by the unions. “A collective agreement is a collective agreement,” she said.
The strike caused many schools across the province to close on Friday. Others may close on Monday if the work stoppage continues.
“With 55,000 people not showing up to work in schools across the province, it means that millions of students and their parents have nowhere to go, they are not learning, they are not receiving an education. Which the Education Act guarantees.” Murji said.
Previously, CUPE attorney Steven Barrett argued that an imposed contract should not be treated as a negotiated contract.
He said he recognized the law that dictates the employment contract, “but to call it a mid-contract service termination, as if it were a freely negotiated collective agreement, is fundamental nonsense” in his opinion.
Barrett said that if he deems the strike legal, union action could continue until the government repeals its new law or until the union and government negotiate an end.
Commission chairman Brian O’Byrne heard the arguments for 4pm Saturday, with the hearing lasting until early Sunday morning, before resuming a few hours later at 7am.
He promised he would try to make a decision as soon as possible. “I will try to do this by today. I hope to succeed, ”she said.
The new provincial law provides penalties for violating the strike ban of up to $ 4,000 per employee per day – which could amount to $ 220 million for all 55,000 workers – and up to $ 4,000 per employee per day, at $ 500,000 per day. for the union.
CUPE said it would fight the fines, but also pay them if necessary.
