An Ontario labor board hearing to determine the legality of a walkout by education support workers was adjourned in the early morning hours on Sunday, as lawyers for the province argued that the strike action was unlawful because a new contract had come into effect.
In its application, the provincial government said it was seeking an “unlawful strike declaration” against CUP E’s Ontario School Board Council of Unions, which represents the workers. Also named are Laura Walton, OS BCU president, and Fred Hahn, head of CUP E Ontario. The government is seeking an order “directing that any and all unlawful strike activity immediately cease.”
“Ensuring that an unlawful strike is not allowed to continue is a very important labor relations purpose,” government lawyer Farina Meiji said.
The government passed legislation on Thursday that imposed a four-year contract on the union’s members and overruled their right to strike. It also included the notwithstanding clause in the legislation, effectively preventing the union from using the courts to oppose it.
The proceedings before Brian O’Byrne, chair of Ontario Labor Relations Board, or ORB, started Thursday night and continued on Friday and Saturday before proceedings were adjourned at around 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. The hearing was set to resume at 7 a.m., but it remained unclear when a decision would be released.
Steven Barrett, lawyer for the union, argued on Saturday that the only option left for workers was to protest the government stripping their Charter-protected rights. OS BCU argued in its own submission to the board that the job action that began on Friday is not a strike, but rather a “legitimate political protest” to oppose the government’s “decision to trample upon employees’ constitutionally protected right to collectively bargain and right to strike.”
Earlier on Saturday, Mr. O’Byrne ruled that Education Minister Stephen Recce would not be called to testify, even though the union’s lawyer had argued for it.
Mr. Recce has vowed to get the more than one million students across Ontario who were forced to stay home on Friday back in classrooms, using “every tool available.”
The Ontario Federation of Labor organized protests across the province on Saturday in support of education workers, including one at Yong and Sundas square in Toronto.
OS BCU members, who include education assistants, custodians and other support staff, set up picket lines outside politicians’ offices and the provincial legislature at Queen’s Park on Friday. On the south lawn of the legislature, protesters waved placards and shouted “no more cuts” and “we won’t back down.” Some marched around the building, while others danced to music.
Asked on Friday what the union would do if the ORB rules against it, Ms. Walton did not indicate next steps.
“We will need to see,” she said outside the legislature. She added that workers have called for the protest to continue until the government offers a better deal.
The union faces hefty fines for its actions under the legislation, known as Bill 28: $4,000 a day for each worker who walks out, with a $500,000-a-day penalty for the union.
Many schools – including in Toronto, York and Peel – were closed Friday as the union defied the government and walked out.
On Friday, thousands of education support workers across Ontario walked off the job, setting up picket lines outside Queen’s Park and politicians’ offices.
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