Ford government prepared to force power workers back to work in case of strike
Ontario's Power Worker's union rejected a contract offer from Ontario Power Generation, putting them in a legal strike position as of Dec. 26.
TORONTO – A source with the Ontario government says the Progressive Conservatives are prepared to recall the legislature to table back-to-work legislation to end a potential strike by power workers that could lead to outages.
The source has confirmed to The Canadian Press that Energy Minister Greg Rickford is considering all options, including bringing politicians back during the legislature’s Christmas break, to end a potential labour disruption.
On Thursday, members of Ontario’s Power Worker’s union rejected a contract offer from Ontario Power Generation, putting them in a legal strike position as of Dec. 26.
The union, which has been without a deal since March 31, says in a statement that OPG’s final offer remained unchanged from a previous position and was rejected.
Ontario Power Generation expressed disappointment that its offer was rejected and says it is activating contingency plans in the event of a labour disruption.
The union represents over 16,000 workers in Ontario’s energy sector, including about 6,000 OPG employees.
