TTC union workers win back right to strike
Posted May 8, 2023 12:18 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2023 1:56 pm.
An Ontario Superior Court judge has ruled that provincial government legislation banning TTC workers from striking violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, giving them back the right to strike.
Effective immediately, the legislation is declared unconstitutional. The province had called for the court to delay the implementation of the decision until March 31, 2024, but Justice Chalmers said the request was “unreasonable.”
A spokesman for the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 calls it an “historic and important decision.”
In 2011, the then Liberal government under Premier Dalton McGuinty passed a law banning strikes and lockouts at the TTC. It stemmed from a request made by Toronto City Council to declare the transit system an essential service.
At the time, the city estimated TTC work stoppages cost the economy $50 million per day.
“We’re aware of this decision and are assessing any potential impacts going forward. Our commitment is, and always will be, to work with our union partners to reach a negotiated settlement at the bargaining table,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green said in a emailed statement.
CityNews has also reached out to the City of Toronto for comment on the ruling.
