The issue shouldn't be a fare hike but a revenue hike to meet costs. IE should have to account for what proportions of their revenues come from fares, from non-fare income such as rents and food and advertising and from government subvention.
Fares should only rise to keep pace with an agreed % of revenues, so that if the punter is paying 6% more so is govt, so is the Eason's newsagent etc. If pay increases are part of government agreements then the govt should be sensitive to it. These reviews should be mandatory on an annual basis rather than "saving up" fare hikes which are then proposed at massive levels every 4-5 years.
Ideally the level of non-fare income should be targeted to reduce the burden on the State and the passenger not simply with rent hikes by making all IE stations commercially friendly with provision of commercial space where feasible so that stations with low traffic help pull their weight by renting office space or something else.
In Toronto, cost recovery (excluding subvention) is 80%+ which is considered extremely high.
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