TORONTO — Ontario is offering public servants a four-year contract extension with 7.5-per-cent raises, which, if ratified, would avoid possibly contentious bargaining before the next provincial election. The last deal saw OPSEU workers get no raises in 2015 or 2016, a 1.4-per-cent lump-sum payment in 2016 and a 1.4-per-cent raise in 2017. The correctional bargaining unit is recommending its members reject the deal, in part because of how it came about. “It started as a secretive offer,” said corrections bargaining team chair Chris Jackel. The negotiated deal also removed correctional workers’ right to strike, sending future disputes to binding interest arbitration, like police and firefighters.

Source: National Post June 13, 2017 05:03 UTC