TORONTO, ONT –  Tens of thousands of Ontario teachers will likely see their wages frozen and their benefits cut this fall under a bill introduced Monday by the Liberals.
 
The minority bill would force new contracts on teachers and school workers, as well as give the Liberals the power to ban lockouts and strikes for at least two years.
   
It’s expected to become law, as the Progressive Conservatives have agreed to help pass the legislation.
   
The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario plans to rally thousands of teachers at Queen’s Park Tuesday to protest the bill.
   
The Liberals want the bill passed before the end of the week, saying it’s the only way to ensure labour peace before students head back to the classroom.

Progressive Conservatives Leader Tim Hudak said his party will back the bill, which means it will likely pass in the legislature.

“We’re going to bail Dalton McGuinty out of this mess because I don’t want parents and students to be caught in the crossfire,” Hudak said.

Ontario Education Minister Laurel Broten said the bill has been revised to appease concerns from the Tories, thereby allowing them to support it.

“We’ve introduced a requirement that the Ministry of Education will submit any signed collective agreements to the Legislative Assembly, and that they be posted online within 14 days to enforce transparency and accountability,” Broten said.

However, the three powerful unions who oppose the measures said they’ll take it all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.

In a letter to Hudak, McGuinty discusses the need to pass the “Putting Students First Act.” Click here to read the letter.

The New Democrats said they won’t support the bill, with its Leader Andrea Horwath saying this is all about the Liberals trying to win two byelections in Kitchener-Waterloo and Vaughan on Sept. 6.

There’s still a bumpy road ahead for students and parents. Three unions who oppose the government’s demands are planning a rally Tuesday at Queen’s Park to protest it .

They said there will be no labour disruptions this fall, but aren’t ruling out job action later in the year.

The Liberals recalled the legislature two weeks early to introduce the legislation. If it doesn’t go through, old contracts with teachers will automatically roll over giving them pay raises and benefits that the province can’t afford, they said.

Hudak continues to press for a pay freeze for all public sector workers, including doctors, but the premier continues to say no.