This week the employer provided us with an update on the progress in implementing our new wage grid and retroactive payments following our Bill 124 wage re-opener award.
While we are pleased that all OPS Unified members are now being paid at their new rate, one quarter – 25% – of our members have yet to receive the retro pay they are entitled to. That is thousands of members who have not received their remedy.
The employer is now saying that they estimate these payments will not be made until the end of February 2025. Worse, as part of the employer’s plan, members on WSIB or LITP and retirees will be among the last to receive their retro pay.
“Make no mistake – these are wages that were stolen from our members under Premier Ford’s unconstitutional wage suppression legislation, and it is on our employer to do the right thing and make sure our members receive their payments,” said CERC Chair Amanda Usher.
While the employer claims to have brought in additional resources, they have clearly not done enough to meet their own timelines which originally indicated the payments would all be processed this fall.
The CERC and all MERC chairs are meeting to discuss these delays and develop a plan to demand that retroactive payments be made sooner.
“The Ford Government can figure out how to send every Ontarian $200 as an attempt to buy votes in the next provincial election but can’t even figure out how to pay their employees the wages that were stolen from them in a timely manner. They should stop focusing on shiny gimmicks and instead fix their mistakes and do right by dedicated public service workers,” added Usher.
For more information on the OPS Unified Bill 124 Arbitration Award, click here.