By Karen Howlett - from the Globe and Mail
The Ontario government struck a “secret deal” with the province’s largest public-sector union, awarding its members an additional wage increase of 1 per cent for 2012, according to documents revealed Wednesday at a labour board hearing.
The revelation that the 38,000 workers received a quiet wage top-up in a contract spanning a fixed election date is likely to draw criticism from the opposition. The previously undisclosed deal also calls into question other wage settlements with public-sector employees. At least one union says it treated the public version of the OPSEU agreement as a benchmark.
Documents entered at a hearing before the Ontario Labour Relations Board reveal that the government agreed to pay the “adjustment” to 38,000 members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, on top of a scheduled wage increase of 2 per cent for 2012.
The documents were presented after Diane Gee, chairwoman of the hearing, rejected the government’s request to permanently seal correspondence outlining the across-the-board adjustment, which was over and above a four-year collective agreement reached between OPSEU and the government in December, 2008.
The government agreed to top up the wages for OPSEU members 15 months before it called for a voluntary wage freeze for teachers, nurses and other public-sector workers who bargain collectively, according to the documents. Public-sector unions and arbitrators have all but ignored that request.
Government lawyers argued that there would be “significant detrimental impact” on labour relations if confidential agreements or undertakings were disclosed.
“Confidential agreements are of paramount significance in labour relations and have proven to be a highly productive means by which to resolve difficult issues,” the government’s written submission says.
Ms. Gee disagreed and asserted that open proceedings are a cornerstone of Canada's justice system. “Sealing evidence heard and considered in a legal proceeding is antithetical to openness and transparency,” she said in her written decision.
The deal for extra pay is spelled out in letters from an official in the Ministry of Government Services to the chief negotiator for OPSEU. In a letter dated Dec. 24, 2008, the ministry official says the government appreciates the union’s approach to labour relations and the atmosphere of “mutual trust” that helps to resolve issues and problems.
“The parties recognize the current economic climate poses significant challenges to government,” the letter says.
In a second, unsigned letter with a hand-written date of Dec. 23, 2008, the ministry official says the 1-per-cent adjustment will not be part of the collective agreement, but that OPSEU can file a grievance if the top-up payment is not implemented. Read more...
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