Photo courtesy Ontario Federation of Labour

A big win for labour.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has struck down Bill 124.

It says it violates the fundamental constitutional rights to collective bargaining and to strike – rights it states are recognized in the Canadian Charter.

The Ford government introduced the wage-restricting bill in 2019, capping all public sector wage increases at one per cent for two years,

Seventy unions, including Unifor, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, and Ontario Nurses Association, launched their court challenge shortly after the bill passed in the legislature.

“Today’s decision affirms what we have known all along – Bill 124 is a blatant attack on fundamental trade union rights,” states Patty Coates, Ontario Federation of Labour President.

“The court found that Bill 124 had a severe impact on workers’ living standards and a devastating impact on the ability of employees to exercise their constitutionally protected right to bargain collectively in order to improve their compensation and working conditions,” adds Coates.

“Given the thoroughness of the court’s reasons, we expect that the government and public sector employers will now take swift action to redress the severe harms that continue to be caused by Bill 124.”

Several media outlets report the government is planning to appeal the ruling.