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Ontario Nurses Association May 11 2026

Ontario nurses fighting for right to strike

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A constitutional challenge has been launched over a labour law that restricts any form of job action, including a strike, by nurses in Ontario when trying to negotiate a new contract.

The Hospital Labour Disputes Arbitration Act (HLDAA) was put in place in 1965.

The Act was intended to resolve contract disputes without disrupting essential healthcare services.

President of the Ontario Nurses Association Erin Ariss says it has allowed for a system that sidesteps meaningful collective bargaining.

“Instead, employers have relied on arbitrators to impose contracts that reinforce the status quo and consistently fail to address critical systemic issues like equal wages and understaffing,” says Ariss.

Ariss says the tipping point for them came with last year’s arbitrator-imposed contract that ignored the nurses’ demand for nurse-to-patient ratios.

“This followed more than 15 years without a negotiated settlement by hospital employers,” says Ariss.

More recently, bargaining for nursing homes broke down after only a couple of weeks when employers held firm on their negotiating position, leading to arbitration to decide on a contract.

The union also see HLDAA as a gender equality issue, given that more than 90% of workers impacted are women in a historically female-dominated profession.

“Recognition without respect is meaningless,” says Ariss.

“If the Ford government truly values nurses, it must do more than offer symbolic thanks. It’s time to confront the reality we are living every day and respect our right to the same collective power nurses across Canada have enshrined in our constitution.”

JP Hornick at OPSEU rally Sept 17

Public sector union fights for retroactive increases for Ontario community and social services workers

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The Ontario Public Service Employees Union says the underfunding of community and social services is pushing workers to the brink.

The union has launched a campaign, calling for fair wages for workers and funding increases to the agencies they work for.

OPSEU President JP Hornick says it is a major issue in contract talks.

“Thousands of OPSEU/SEFPO members in the Worth Fighting For campaign are taking a historic stand, not just for wage justice, but for the future of the services and the care that they provide,” says Hornick.

Hornick says 27 bargaining units have filed no board reports in separate negotiations.

The union wants the government to compensate workers who were impacted by wage-restricting legislation that was eventually declared unconstitutional in the courts.

This led to agreements of retroactive increases for some public sector workers, such as those working in colleges and hospitals.

Hornick says thousands of others are waiting for the same treatment.

“These employers cannot deliver the retroactive wage increases alone,” says Hornick.

“These workers have been at the bargaining table with their employers, and they’ve told them as much that the funding just isn’t there. It’s on Ford to make this right.”

The union notes a $1.5 billion funding shortfall for the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

The latest provincial budget shows a 2.4% decrease to the Ministry’s allocation over the next year.

David Piccini Apr 8 2026

WSIB coverage coming to more Ontario workers

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The provincial government intends to expand Workplace Safety and Insurance Board coverage to more employees.

The province intends to make it available to workers in privately operated residential care facilities, retirement homes and group homes.

Labour Minister David Piccini says it creates a level playing field.

“These changes would close long-standing coverage gaps across the sector, giving workers access to WSIB coverage like income replacement, healthcare and rehabilitation services, retraining and return to work supports, while providing employers a clear, consistent rules across the sector,” Piccini.

Piccini says since the nature of their work has changed over the years, so too should the coverage.

Unions are pleased with the province’s announcement.

President of SEIU Healthcare Canada, Tyler Downey, calls it a win that is more than a policy change.

“This is recognition of the dignity of care work, the value of those who do it, and the responsibility we all share to stand behind the people who spend their lives caring for others,” says Downey.

Piccini also sees the benefit helping with the recruitment and retention of employees.

“When you want to attract staff, and when workers go to work and roll up their sleeves every day, often dealing with some of our friends and neighbours with the most complex needs, when we say we have your back and you will have WSIB support, I think it does create a more attractive working environment.”

The province reports that approximately 165,000 workers in Ontario are employed in the nursing and residential care facilities sector.

Over 75% of employers in Ontario in most sectors are subject to mandatory coverage.

Confederation College strike Sept 2025

NDP makes another push for legislation protecting striking employees

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The provincial NDP is calling on the Ford government to support legislation that would make it illegal for companies and organizations to hire replacement workers during a strike.

A proposed bill was reintroduced at Queen’s Park last week.

Ontario had legislation in place before former Premier Mike Harris repealed the law shortly after taking office in 1995.

NDP Labour Critic Jamie West says he has seen the impact of that decision when he was working for a company that went on strike.

“And during that time, for the first time in my company’s 50-year history, we had scab replacement workers cross the picket line,” says West.

“I saw firsthand how it artificially lengthens the length of a strike. It makes it more difficult. And with the hindsight of after the strike ending, looking back, I saw how it exploits vulnerable workers who are desperate to make money.”

Niagara Falls MPP Wayne Gates, who was a former labour leader, concurs.

“When you see that bus pull up, full of workers, replacement workers, anti-scab workers, and your heart sinks,” says Gates.

“And now it becomes a set of confrontation, not just between the employer and the union and their members. It becomes a constant fight between replacement workers, anti-SCAB, and the police. The whole process becomes off the rails.”

The NDP notes federal legislation has been in place since 2004.

Quebec and British Columbia have provincial laws that are nearly half a century old.

“It’s time for Mr. Ford and his government to say, yes, we want to protect workers, yes, we want to protect our communities, yes, we want to have a more just society,” says West.

The NDP’s proposal awaits second reading.

Community Living Dryden-Sioiux Lookout

Strike vote taken by Community Living Dryden-Sioux Lookout employees

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Contract talks between Unifor and Community Living Dryden-Sioux Lookout are scheduled to resume next week.

A conciliator will be involved.

The organization’s 120 employees have been working without a new contract since last August.

The two sides attempted to discuss an new agreement last fall, but talks broke down in November with wages the key stumbling point.

The union says the organizations is offering lump-sum payments in lieu of a general wage increase for some years.

“For anyone to be offered a zero with the kind of inflation we’ve experienced is absolutely unacceptable,” states Katrina Peterson, Unifor Local 324 President, in a release.

“Inflation has risen almost 19% over the last 5 years and as a result, Unifor has successfully negotiated fair wage increases with several healthcare and social services agencies across the region.”

“I would say this employer has been fair in the past, but seriously, you can’t say you care about your staff while watching their pay cheques get stretched thinner year after year and then offer them token wage increases and even wage freezes, ” adds Peterson.

Seniority and safety concerns related to forced overtime shifts are other key issues.

Employees voted this week 100% in favour of strike action to back contract demands.

Stephen Boon, Unifor’s Northern Area Director says they are still committed to working towards a negotiated settlement.

“Our memberships have expressed solid support for their bargaining committees, and we informed them we will continue to work to achieve fair deals in an attempt to minimize any disruptions to the people they are committed to serve,” says Boon.

He adds that if conciliation fails to produce an agreements, mediated talks are still possible.

“However, failing that, our memberships will begin preparations for potential strike action as early as next month,” states Boon.

Doug Ford Feb 18 2026

Premier muses about employees working on statutory holidays

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Ontario’s Premier feels workers should be given the option to work on statutory holidays or not.

Doug Ford is asking his Labour Minister to investigate the idea further.

It stems from his disappointment in seeing several shopping malls closed on Family Day.

Ford feels workers should have the choice to work or not.

“Someone making $20 an hour wants to make $50 an hour and wants to work those 8,10 hours, bring home $500. God bless them. They should have that opportunity,” says Ford.

He says it would result in workers having extra money in their pocketbooks and stimulate the economy even more.

He predicts it would be close to a million extra working hours across the province.

However, Ford is not interested in forcing employees to work on a statutory holiday.

“People will never be forced to go to work. Never, or we’ll charge the company that forces them,” emphasizes Ford.

The Premier did not indicate how long he will give his Labour Minister to review the idea or when any legislation may come to Queen’s Park for further discussion.

Laura Walton Ontario Federation of Labour Jan 21 2026

Ontario labour unions continue fight to restore loss wages

Labour groups in Ontario say there are some unresolved issues stemming from the wage-restricting legislation that was struck down by the courts four years ago.

While some public sector workers receive retroactive pay, many others have not.

The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), alongside coalition members representing unions impacted by Bill 124, including the Canadian Union of Public Employees Service Employees Union-Ontario (CUPE Ontario) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), want the Ford government to address the issue.

OFL President Laura Walton says it should not take years to correct.

“We’re ready to engage in meaningful discussions to resolve this fairly and efficiently. But workers cannot be expected to wait indefinitely for justice after a law has already been ruled unconstitutional,” says Walton

Workers in healthcare, education and the LCBO were among those to benefit from a retroactive bump up in pay.

Union leaders say thousands of others, including developmental service workers, child protection workers, childcare workers, and addiction and outreach workers, have never received any remedy to wages being limited to a one percent increase.

CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn feels the Ford government is discriminating against those workers.

“They must be given the same respect and the same remedy for Bill 124 as other public sector workers, deserve to be compensated fairly. Not to be locked in unfair low wages,” says Hahn.

“Social services are the foundation of our communities, their work. These workers’ work is required to ensure that we live in a decent and caring province.”

The union leaders say they are prepared to take legal action or labour action in their fight for reimbursement.

JP Hornick, President of OPSEU, estimates that about 25,000 members in 150 bargaining units are deserving of retroactive pay.

Hornick says they sent a letter to the provincial government, indicating their intention of taking legal action to recoup the money for workers.

“We are willing to engage in meaningful discussion with the Ford government to resolve this now before we take this fight back to the courts,” says Hornick.

“These workers had wages stolen. They were affected by Bill 124, and they deserve the remedy now, not three years later, but right now.”

hydro one pick-up (2)

Hydro One and union reach tenative agreement

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Hydro One and the union representing more than two thousand employees have reached a tentative agreement.

The Society of United Professionals, which covers engineering, supervisory and other professional roles across Ontario, confirmed the proposed contract is now headed to a ratification vote.

Details of the agreement have not been released.

If approved, the deal would be retroactive to October of 2025.

Hydro One employs more than ten thousand people and supplies electricity to roughly one-point-five million customers across the province.

Lise Vaugeois Nov 25 2025

Injured workers seek policy change to Workers Compensation and Insurance Board

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Injured workers continue to advocate for policy changes to the Workers’ Safety and Insurance Board.

Armed with a new report, they want an end to benefits being cut off at age 65.

The age limit went into place at a time when retirement was mandatory.

Tebasum Durani from the Injured Workers Community Legal Clinic says the policy is outdated and does not reflect today’s reality.

“The law draws a line based on age and age alone,” says Durani.

“We believe that this is discrimination that violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of age. The continued existence of the law as it stands reflects a world that no longer exists.”

Durani says more than 421,000 people in the province were working past the age of 65 in 2024, with just under 164,000 of those being over the age of 70.

She says the province could look at the practices of other provinces to see how they approach older injured workers.

“Other provinces like Alberta and British Columbia have developed flexible and individualized approaches that give older workers the chance to provide evidence of their intended working plans and retirement plans.”

In a statement from the WSIB, a spokesperson writes that the rules regarding entitlement to benefits related to a person’s age are set out in the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and would require legislation from the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.

They say the WSIB is here to help people injured at work regardless of their age, providing people with health care benefits as long as required for the work-related injury, adding that if someone suffers a permanent impairment, they are entitled to a non-economic loss benefit based on the degree of their permanent impairment, regardless of their age at the time of the injury.

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Postal Workers Consider Contract Extension

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A two-year extension is being offered to postal workers in Canada.

Canada Post presented the offer in early June because of the ongoing pandemic.

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says it includes a 2 per cent wage increase each year, new hourly wages for rural and suburban carriers and a promise to implement a new financial services pilot this year.

Members will begin voting on the deal in August.

The union is recommending they accept it.

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