Limiting pay increases for public sector workers will save jobs and make sure everyone gets a raise, says Premier Doug Ford.In the legislature Thursday, Ford said his government introduced legislation to curb pay increases over the next three years because it is dealing with a multibillion-dollar deficit and had to make a choice of giving raises “and laying off thousands of people, or everyone take an increase.”“Everyone is going to keep their job,” the premier said. “They’re going to get a pay increase. We decided to make sure that we went that route instead of the other route of laying people off that previous governments had to do.”But Ontario unions say workers are already receiving layoff notices, and vowed to fight the government over legislation they say violates worker rights.“We are going to take every action that we can to fight this legislation along with our colleagues in the labour movement,” said Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, who was at Queen’s Park Thursday in a show of solidarity with other union leaders. “You cannot introduce this kind of legislation and just expect them to stand on the sidelines,” he said. “Absolutely there is going to be pushback on this.”Read more:Ford government to cap pay raises for public servants in bid to control spendingHigh school teacher talks off to a rough start, union saysOpinion | Thomas Walkom: Doug Ford is testing Ontario’s tolerance for chaosOn Wednesday, the Ford government proposed the bill that would cap broader public sector worker raises at 1 per cent a year for the next three years when contracts expire. The bill will go to a legislative committee this summer and is unlikely to become law until the fall.Unions say they will challenge the legislation — which also covers school boards, universities and hospitals — on constitutional grounds. NDP Leader Andrea Horwat ...
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