Despite plenty of blowback from vested interests and the unions, Ontario will stick to its plan to cap public sector wage increases as it enters key contract talks with teachers.

The provincial finance minister Rod Phillips said he hopes other unions look to the example set by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, adding that the government has been clear about the cap since last spring.

In June, Treasury Board President Peter Bethlenfalvy introduced legislation that would establish a one per cent wage increase cap for public sector workers. The bill, which has yet to pass, sparked anger from major unions who warned it could derail ongoing contract negotiations, trigger protests and lead to a court challenge.

Earlier this week, education minister Stephen Lecce lauded the CUPE deal, and the union’s acceptance of the cap, as a win for the government.

CUPE also claimed a victory in the negotiations, saying the tentative agreement restores millions in funding and brings back as many as 1,500 jobs cut by the Tories.

Meanwhile the president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation has said that the union is not interested in accepting the government’s wage increase cap.

According to media reports, the union has proposed a “cost-of-living adjustment” based on a formula linked to the Consumer Price Index, which works out to be around two per cent depending on changes to the economy.

The president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario called Phillips’s comments “very disappointing”, adding that they do nothing to advance negotiations.

Both high school and elementary teachers’ contracts expired at the end of August. -CINEWS