OPSEU files charter challenge to defend right to strike

Parties should return to bargaining table: Union

OPSEU files charter challenge to defend right to strike
The College Employer Council forced a vote on a contract offer in November. GOOGLE STREET VIEW

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) filed a charter challenge on Jan. 23 regarding the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Labour Dispute Resolution Act, also known as Bill 178.

The union said the act — which forced an end to the college faculty strike in November 2017 — violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"We promised last November that we would challenge the government`s back-to-work legislation, and we are keeping that promise. This act is unconstitutional," said OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas. "The right to strike is essential to collective bargaining, and negotiating with the employer is central to the work of a union."

The union is demanding that the collective agreement awarded through the interest arbitration process be deemed to have expired, and that both parties return to the bargaining table, according to OPSEU.

The Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act has a provision that allows the government to step in if negotiations are not progressing. Premier Kathleen Wynne chose not to do so. This decision was a key factor leading to an unnecessary strike, said the union.

The College Employer Council forced a vote on a contract offer in November. Their ploy received a no vote of 86 per cent. Wynne responded by allowing a three-hour window for negotiations, which predictably failed to produce a collective agreement. The premier then pushed through Bill 178 which legislated college faculty back to work and ensured an arbitrator imposed a new contract, said OPSEU.

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