Last Friday, your OPS Unified Central Employee Relations Committee (CERC) entered mediation for our challenge of the provincial government’s heavy-handed Return-to-Office (RTO) mandate at the Ontario Labour Board in Toronto.
We were sent off with an energizing rally outside the labour board where OPSEU/SEFPO members from across sectors, joined by labour and community allies, braved the freezing cold temperatures to have their voices heard. Thank you to everyone who came out in strength and solidarity to show our employer – the provincial government – that we will continue to fight for the right to bargain our working conditions without having them unilaterally imposed on us!
We went into mediation in good faith, ready to have a constructive conversation about protecting workers’ rights and respecting the freeze provisions as outlined in Section 86(1) of the Labour Relations Act. We came prepared with our arguments that the Ford government’s mandate was implemented after OPSEU/SEFPO served notice to bargain, making it a clear breach of the statutory freeze provision that prohibits employers from making unilateral changes to working conditions once bargaining has commenced.
Unfortunately, the government was not prepared to meaningfully address our concerns or reconsider their RTO mandate and mediation was unsuccessful. We will now proceed to a formal hearing at the Ontario Labour Relations Board. Tentative dates for this formal hearing have been scheduled for May 26, 2026 and June 5, 2026.
This isn’t about flexibility or convenience, this isn’t about us asking for something new – it’s about protecting established working conditions and respecting the collective agreement. Members of OPS Unified already have these rights, and they deserve stability and fairness during the bargaining process.
Your OPS Unified CERC team will be dedicating time over the coming weeks and months preparing for these hearings and remain confident in our position and committed to defending the rights of 32,000 OPS Unified workers across this province.
We will continue to keep members updated as our challenge progresses.
In Solidarity,
Your OPS Unified CERC Team
Amanda Usher – Chair
Chris Eckert – Vice-Chair
Leslie Aiston – Member