For immediate release                                                                                 October 19, 2000

 Principle of pay equity not on the table

OTTAWA - "We are pleased the Minister of Justice has indicated that the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, which has been enshrined in the Canadian Human Rights Act since 1977, will not be on the table when the law is reviewed," says Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) National President Nycole Turmel.

Turmel was given this assurance by Justice Minister Anne McLellan when she advised the PSAC of the Liberal government’s intention to appoint a Task Force to review Section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. Section 11 of the Act states that it is discriminatory to pay women and men differently if they are doing work of equal value in the same establishment.

"There is agreement over the principle of pay equity," says Turmel. "It’s not the concept that needs a review, it’s the process for implementing pay equity that needs work. Minister McLellan has indicated the review will start from an acceptance of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Pay equity is an important pre-requisite to women’s economic equality."

"The current legislative framework for pay equity at the federal level is still complaints based," says Turmel. "This means that only those who have the human and financial resources to file complaints and to pursue every legal channel, can hope for pay equity. The PSAC’s complaint against the federal government took almost 16 years to resolve. Another complaint against the Canada Post Corporation was started in 1983 and is still before a Tribunal. Our experience, and that of other unions, is that employers continually use legal tactics in an attempt to wear down unions and discourage their complaints, thus frustrating the intent of the law."

PSAC has already talked to Minister McLellan and put forward some initial suggestions for much-needed changes. They include:

• legislation that provides for universal coverage, with no numerical restrictions;
• realistic and mandatory timelines and penalties for failing to meet deadlines for developing pay equity plans and making wage adjustments;
• mandatory gender neutral methods for determining the value of jobs, based on the four existing factors of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions;
• adequate government funding for education, training, information and enforcement;
• extensive and mandatory union involvement where workers are unionized.

"The PSAC has developed considerable expertise in the area of pay equity as a result of the complaints we have filed and successfully pursued," emphasizes Turmel. "We intend to participate fully in the government’s review so that pay equity can finally become a reality for all women covered by the Canadian Human Rights Act."

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For more information call:

Lois Ross, Coordinator of Communications & Political Action - (613) 560-4280

53-201000