'When do we get the money?': Bill 124 back-payments could soon come to local teachers and nurses
Ontario will have to pay out more than $6 billion to broader public sector workers after the provincial government's wage restraint legislation was found to be unconstitutional, according to a report in the Canadian Press.
Bill 124 went into effect in 2019, capping salary increases for some public sector workers at 1 per cent a year for three years.
But with that legislation now repealed, according to senior government sources cited by the Canadian Press, workers will collectively receive back-pay through so-called “reopener payments” to the tune of $6 billion.
“It certainly is going to cost some money because we're five years behind. People have to remember this is compensation from 2019 up until present day,” said Erin Roy, the president of OSSTF District 9.
Roy said there are a lot of variables to consider when determining how much each worker could receive, based on their placement in the salary grid. But she estimates on the high end, some teachers could receive about $15,000 in gross retroactive pay.
“We just have to remind the teachers and the education workers that this is just money that was essentially stolen from you because this is money you should have been earning throughout this in this inflationary period that we're all feeling,” Roy said.
Roy said the work now begins to determine how much each of the 700,000 teachers, education workers and nurses across the province will get.
“The question is, when do we get to get the money?” Roy asked, noting the province must pay out by June 10, 2024.
“This will come as relief to many, but it's going to go right to lines of credit now. Perhaps, probably could have been paid towards mortgages at some point,” she said.
Ontario New Democrat leader Marit Stiles issued a statement Friday, saying the impacts have already driven people away from the affected professions.
“Now, instead of investing billions to fix the things Ontarians are struggling with—housing, cost of living, emergency room closures—we’re all on the hook for Ford’s misguided attack on workers,” reads the statement from Stiles.
At the same time, teachers have been without a contract since 2022.
Roy confirmed teachers have reached agreements locally, with ratification votes scheduled after March Break.
The central bargaining committee has entered binding interest arbitration with the province, hoping to have a deal to look at by summertime.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Hamas is reviewing an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Russia renews attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector as Kyiv launches drones at southern Russia
Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region.