TORONTO, Sept. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Workers gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court this morning as the court prepared to hear the constitutional challenge to Bill 124 brought forward by unions across the province. The bill limits public sector compensation to 1 percent at a time when inflation is at its highest level in forty years.

Six union leaders have stressed the unconstitutionality of Bill 124 and the devastating impact it has had on workers since it was introduced by Ford’s Conservative government in 2019.

“Today marks an important milestone in the fight against Bill 124. This wage suppression bill has attacked fundamental union rights here in Ontario,” said Patty Coates, Ontario Federation of Labor President. “Bill 124 is a blatant attack on free and fair collective bargaining. It interferes with this fundamental right and tipps the balance in favor of employers even before the parties sit down together at the negotiating table.”

Alongside Bill 124’s unconstitutionality, union leaders pointed to the impact it has had on Ontario’s healthcare system, which is currently facing an unprecedented workforce crisis. “By suppressing wages and restricting or denying frontline healthcare workers the support they need to do their jobs, the Ford administration has made a terrible situation worse,” Coates said.

Speakers also underscored the devastating impact that Bill 124 has had on provincial justice, noting that the majority of workers affected by the bill are women, particularly racialized women. “Bill 124 aims to attack an already vulnerable group of workers and make their working conditions even worse. It is no exaggeration to say that Bill 124 deepens the sexism and racism experienced by so many Ontario workers,” added Coates.

Unions are confident in the emerging public consensus that Bill 124 must be scrapped. “Bill 124…