Over a year after Bill 124 was reversed, some Ontario workers still wait for payments

At the beginning of 2024, the government agreed to reverse its Bill 124, a measure which had capped public sector pay increases at one per cent annually for three years.

More than a year after the Ford government reversed its controversial wage restraint legislation on the back of successive court defeats, a number of workers are still waiting for compensation.

At the beginning of 2024, the government agreed to reverse its Bill 124, a controversial measure which had capped public sector pay increases at one per cent annually for three years.

A group of major unions appealed against the law and won two court battles before the government agreed to reverse it, opening a slew of renegotiations where public sector employers had to settle with their employees for three years.

More than a year after that, however, some are still waiting to be paid.

The government confirmed to Global News that the “majority” of public sector employees have received compensation, but accepted that some were still without their funding.

“Claims, things that were settled later, roll out later,” Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said.

“So everyone will be paid back; it’s just a matter of the timing of when those decisions were made. The payments were the responsibility of the employer as well.”

The legislation, first introduced in 2019 by now-finance minister Peter Bethlenfalvy, was sold as a cost-saving measure designed to “protect vital services and front-line jobs.”