(Toronto) The Ontario Labor Relations Board has ended its hearings to determine the legality of a strike by education workers and will issue its decision shortly.
Posted at 5:03 p.m.
Around 55,000 workers walked off the job on Friday in protest against a government law that forced them into a contract and stripped them of their right to strike.
The government is seeking a ruling that their walkout is illegal, while the Canadian Union of Public Employees (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 was imposed on them.
Government lawyer Ferina Murji claimed that strikes are prohibited in the middle of any contract, not just those that have been ratified by unions. “A collective agreement is a collective agreement,” she argued.
The strike caused the closure of many schools across the province on Friday. Others could close on Monday if the work stoppage continues.
“With 55,000 people not coming to work in schools across the province, it means millions of students and their parents have nowhere to go, are not learning, are not getting an education. that the Education Act guarantees, “said Mr.e Murji.
Earlier, CUPE lawyer Steven Barrett argued that an imposed contract should not be treated the same as a negotiated contract.
He said he recognized the law imposing the employment contract, “but to call it a withdrawal of services mid-contract, as if it were a collective agreement freely negotiated, is a fundamental absurdity” according to him.
Me Barrett said that if he finds the strike legal, industrial action could continue until the government repeals its new law or until the union and government negotiate its end.
Commission Chairman Brian O’Byrne heard arguments for 4 p.m. Saturday, with the hearing extending into early Sunday morning, before resuming a few hours later at 7 a.m.
He promised that he would try to make a decision as soon as possible. “I’ll try to do it by today. I hope I will succeed,” he said.
The province’s new law provides for fines 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 $500,000 a day for the union.
CUPE said it would fight the fines, but would also pay them if necessary.