Ontario elementary teachers awarded $ 103M as’ remedy ‘for Liberals’ Bill 115

The government must pay $ 103.1 million to the province’s elementary teachers as part of a court-ordered remedy for controversial legislation a decade ago that imposed contracts on all education workers.

Bill 115 – which the Dalton McGuinty Liberals used in 2012 as part of an austerity push and to quell unrest in the sector – was found in 2016 to violate the collective bargaining rights of teachers and school staff.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has already received a payout of $ 50 million – up to $ 3,000 per teacher, plus a paid day off – and $ 56.7 million went to the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Some $ 2.75 million was awarded to the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union.

In total, the Putting Students First Act – which forced contracts, froze pay and ended the practice of banking sick days – has cost the province more than $ 212.5 million since the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that it “substantially interfered” with bargaining.

The Elementary Teachers ‘Federation of Ontario, or ETFO, “welcomes (the) decision, but we recognize it does not replace the loss of ETFO members’ bargaining rights, nor the sick leave, gratuities and salary ETFO members lost,” said union president Karen Brown.