However, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation says the sides are already at an impasse, with the union saying “management is proposing a more extensive list of central items (than the OSSTF) is willing to agree to” such as sick-day specifics and bereavement leave.

On Wednesday, the OSSTF sent out a bargaining note accusing the government and boards of dragging their feet on sorting out issues.

OSSTF President Harvey Bischof said the wage-cap legislation “means that the government’s claim to be coming to the table in good faith is an absolute sham.”

The government, Bischof added, has “completely undermined any possibility of an agreement negotiated in good faith.”

Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said the cap is to help offset the up to $1 billion in financial penalties to the Beer Store that the Conservatives will have to pay to liberalize booze sales.

“Who’s he coming after next to pay for his stupid buck-a-beer and beer in corner stores? This boondoggle is going to cost taxpayers. Everything he’s doing is on the backs of workers,” Thomas, who represents 155,000 workers, said of Ford.

The union leader warned OPSEU will be consulting its lawyers about the constitutionality of imposing a cap.

“Average wage settlements in the public sector have been around 1.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent — so inflation,” he noted, adding “they gave tax cuts to the rich and to corporations that don’t need them.”

The dramatic move by the Ford government comes two months after Bethlenfalvy asked public-sector workers to temper their wage expectations or risk legislation to keep the $72-billion provincial payroll “sustainable” in Ford government’s fight to eliminate annual deficits within five years.

Calling for a “new approach,” Bethlenfalvy said at the time that public-sector pay scales are already “generous” but did not hint at wage cuts or caps as he announced union leaders would be asked to join him in six weeks of spring consultations about their contracts.

“Our goal will be to explore how compensation growth can be managed in a way that results in wage settlements that are modest, reasonable and, most importantly, sustainable,” the treasury board president told a Canadian Club luncheon at the Sheraton Hotel downtown in early April.

Questioned by reporters minutes later, Bethlenfalvy repeatedly refused to specify a range for acceptable compensation increases and insisted “this is not about any (wage) caps.” He also said measures would apply only to contracts up for negotiation.

Major contracts with the government’s two major unions, OPSEU and AMAPCEO, don’t expire until 2021.

Public service wages were frozen from 2012 to 2016 to help the previous Liberal government balance the budget in 2017.

Every increase of 1 per cent in compensation to public servants adds $720 million to the government’s costs.

The Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association said it will take legal action if necessary.

“This government has made a point of attacking public services and workers’ rights from the moment they took office. Now they are going even further, deliberately interfering in the constitutionally protected rights of millions of Ontarians to participate in free and fair collective bargaining,” said Liz Stuart, OECTA president.

“The legislation is being introduced just as negotiations are beginning for the renewal of teachers’ collective agreements. Employing such a tactic is heavy-handed and designed to circumvent the bargaining process,” she said.

Certainly, our association will take any legal action needed to defend our members’ rights. But this is not just about us — it is about every worker in the province. The government is attempting to pit Ontarians against one another, but the public is not fooled — we know that everyone deserves the right to negotiate decent working conditions and fair pay for the important work we do.”

The proposed legislation does not apply to doctors.

The bill allows for merit pay as well as for employees — such as teachers — to continue to receive raises as they progress through a wage grid based on qualifications and years of experience.

The average public sector employee earns $64,000 a year.

– Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy

– Robert Benzie is the Star’s Queen’s Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

– Rob Ferguson is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robferguson1