The Right to Strike Is a Legal Mechanism That Can Hold the Government in Check
Teachers
and educations workers are everywhere in action outside the PC
convention in Niagara Falls, February 22, 2020, opposing cuts to and
restructuring of education.
Up until an agreement is reached with the government for a new contract in K-12 education, the prospect of strike action by teachers and education workers who are in every community across the province can hold the government in check if it tries to make unilateral changes to the system, which it has been doing since it was first elected. If a process of interest arbitration is entered into, once it is approved, there is no legal means to oppose the government's arbitrary moves with a strike or the coordinated withdrawal of extracurricular activities or other administrative sanctions, for example. Instead, any coordinated action would constitute strike action, despite no contract being in place, meaning that the legal mechanism to say No! is now gone. Given the government's penchant for ruling by decree, it is dangerous to give this up before an agreement has been entered into that is acceptable, as it gives this government a free hand in many respects. This is something to consider.
This article was published in
Number 51 - September 17, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10517.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca