Victory!
Tentative agreement ushers in classification reform for public sector workers
This week, PSAC won another battle in the long struggle to achieve classification reform and pay equity in the federal public sector.
Under the tentative agreements that were reached on November 23, Treasury Board has agreed to an occupational review and classification reform process, beginning with the Program and Administrative Services (PA) group, and to be later extended to other PSAC bargaining units. This commitment to classification reform will be included in the PA collective agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
If the tentative agreement is ratified, members in the PA and EB groups will receive a pensionable lump sum payment of $4,000. In return, PSAC will drop two specific pay equity complaints against the federal government.
The pay equity complaints: a bit of history
In 1999, PSAC reached an agreement with Treasury Board, following decisions by a Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and the Federal Court (Trial Division), supporting PSAC's contention that the government was not paying equal pay for work of equal value.
But that wasn't the end of pay equity!
In December 2004, PSAC filed pay equity complaints for the female-dominated PA and Education and Library Science (EB) units, given Treasury Board's failure on the classification reform front. At the time, the federal government's classification system had not been updated since its creation in the 1960s – and it still hasn't!
In January 2006, the Canadian Human Rights Commission advised us it would not open a file on our complaints.
In April 2006, the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada (PSHRMAC) signed a commitment with PSAC to work together on the review of the PA group structure and the design of a new classification standard for the PA group. But once again, the government failed to follow up on its commitment to pay equity.
In November 2006, PSAC re-filed two pay equity complaints with the Canadian Human Rights Commission, based on the government's continued inaction on classification reform for the PA and EB units.
Pay equity and the tentative agreements
Under the PA tentative agreement, PSAC won a commitment from Treasury Board – included as an MOU in the collective agreement – to work with the union to develop new occupational group structure and classification standards for the PA group.
As a result of this commitment in the collective agreement, PSAC has agreed to withdraw the two specific pay equity complaints pertaining to the PA and EB groups.
The new classification reform commitment provides us with clear, grievable timelines in the collective agreement. This means that if the government continues to drag its heels, PSAC will be able to use the faster and more efficient grievance arbitration route to address our concerns. This will allow the union to avoid the slower Canadian Human Rights Commission route, should the federal government fail to live up to its commitments to classification reform.
If the tentative agreements are ratified, more than 80,000 workers who are members of the PA and EB groups as of December 15, 2008 will receive a $4,000 pensionable lump sum payment. This lump sum can be viewed as a step toward compensating PA and EB members for the federal government's delay in implementing its past classification reform commitments.
The struggle for pay equity continues
Pay equity has been a longstanding priority for PSAC. While we agreed to withdraw two pay equity complaints if the tentative agreements are ratified, PSAC will be holding Treasury Board to its commitment under the MOU to take action on pay equity and classification.
But rest assured, PSAC has not abandoned the ongoing struggle for pay equity in the broad federal public sector. The union still has several ongoing pay equity complaints – such as the separate employer pay equity complaint and the longstanding complaint against Canada Post.
If we had a proactive federal pay equity law, none of these complaints would be necessary in the first place. The federal government has systematically refused to implement the recommendations of the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force, which recommended a law on pay equity. PSAC will keep fighting until we achieve federal pay equity legislation that protects all workers under federal jurisdiction.
Date Modified : 2010/07/29
