Behind the scenes at the bargaining table

And Ford plays defence with Trudeau

ABOVE THE FOLD

Interim Oppo Leader PETER TABUNS is booted from the House along with 15 NDPers during a raucous debate over the Ford government’s controversial Bill 28.

BEHIND THE SCENES — All eyes are on Queen’s Park today as hopes of inking a last-ditch deal with education workers dwindle.

The latest: CUPE is waiting on the province’s response to its counter-offer, which sources tell me includes a wage increase of about six per cent.

That’s much lower than the roughly 11 per cent CUPE initially wanted, but it’s still a far cry from the 1.5 per cent (or 2.5 per cent for those earning less than $43,000) that the PCs have put on the table — calling it their final offer and threatening to legislate it via controversial Bill 28.

There’s no end in sight, as CUPE is still planning to hit the picket lines tomorrow and “until further notice” — despite facing hefty daily fines of $4,000 for workers and $500,000 for the union. Other unions may help cover those fines. Workers will picket outside …