They're four little words that carry a lot weight: "back to work legislation."
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TTC strike hasn't even started yet and already speculation is running rampant that if the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 walks off the job on Monday morning, the orders sending them back to where they came from won't be long in coming.
Toronto is a very different city than the one that endured a 23-day long walkout in 1974. A transit shutdown creates a state of emergency in this city like few others and as a matter of reality, it simply can't be allowed to continue for long. But the ways to achieve that ending remain up in the air.
Here's a brief look at how the back to work order functions and why we may soon see it used again.
What is it?
Just what its name implies. It's an order from either the provincial or federal government (depending on who's striking) that mandates workers must return to their jobs or face heavy penalties.
It acknowledges the difference between the two sides, but appoints a mediator to help them work it out, as the system - and the city - return to normal. It's only used when there's a threat to the economy, or the health of a city or town is in danger the longer the strike goes on.
When has it been used?
A number of times in the past few years. The most recent example came in May 2006, when the Ontario Labour Board forced TTC workers back to their jobs after they staged
an illegal walkout. The strike lasted less than a day. It has also been employed to send striking teachers back to their classrooms and force Toronto municipal workers to pick up the garbage after they left their jobs in a bitter dispute in 2002.
And postal workers, air traffic controllers and even railway employees have felt its sting in the past when they walked out.
What happens if the union doesn't obey?
Heavy fines and even jail sentences can follow for those who don't come back to their jobs. It was these threats that helped end that 2006 wildcat walkout, but that still didn't come easy. The Labour Board was forced to issue a second back to work edict using stiffer penalties as a club before the workers obeyed.
Does it ever result in a settlement?
Eventually. If they're not allowed to strike, they're forced to talk. And while it often leads to a resolution leaving one side - and sometimes both - unhappy, at least things get back to normal. That is, until the next contract surfaces in three years time and the cycle begins all over again.