No. 17

March 31, 1998

NO WORD YET ON TRIBUNAL DECISION

The Tribunal which heard our federal pay equity complaint is still working on its decision and no release date has yet been given. We had hoped to have more definite information by the end of March. As soon as we have more information, it will be publicized.

ANOTHER DAY…ANOTHER COURT DECISION

Bell Canada has been very, very busy fighting pay equity. Following the lead of the federal government, Bell and a number of other employers have been using every legal maneuver in the book to avoid their obligation under the law to provide equal pay for work of equal value. And, like the federal government, these employers have deep pockets; pockets with money to pay their lawyers but not to pay their women workers fairly.

In Bulletin #16 we reported on a decision by Justice Muldoon in the case of the pay equity complaint by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union (CEP) against Bell. This case will not stop the work of the tribunal which has heard our federal complaint.

Now another Federal Court Justice has ruled that the tribunal which was set up to hear the complaint against Bell cannot proceed until the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) is changed. Bell argued that the Tribunal was not sufficiently independent from the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) and Justice McGillis agreed.

This latest decision will not affect the tribunal which has heard our federal complaint. Employers have 30 days in which to challenge a decision by the CHRC to refer a complaint to a tribunal. The time is long past for the federal government to challenge the establishment of the tribunal. Previous court decisions have confirmed that if you're going to object to a tribunal hearing a case, you have to do it at the outset, not after the Tribunal has heard the case. Even Bell Canada's lawyers said their challenge would not affect cases where Tribunals were already in progress.

Justice McGillis has stated in her decision that the problems she has identified regarding the independence of tribunals need to be corrected by changes to the CHRA. In fact, the problems would appear to be corrected by amendments already before Parliament which include the appointment of an independent and permanent Tribunal. The members of a given tribunal established to hear a human rights complaint would be drawn from among the people who will make up the permanent Tribunal.

These amendments to the CHRA had been introduced in the last Parliament but died on the Order Paper when the 1997 federal election was called. The amendments were re-introduced by the government back in October 1997. Government Bills are usually first introduced in the House of Commons and then proceed to the Senate. However, the government has the option of starting the process in the Senate, which it did in this case. Bill S-5 has been passed by the Senate and has been given First and Second Reading in the House of Commons. It is now before the Justice and Human Rights Committee which is reviewing the Bill and hearing witnesses. The Committee will report to the House, the Bill will be debated and voted upon and then given Third Reading and voted upon. Once this process is complete the Bill can be proclaimed as law.

Because a number of tribunals could be held up by this decision, pressure needs to be put on Members of Parliament in order to make S-5 a priority and speed up passage of the Bill. While the Liberals agree with these amendments because they introduced them, we need to ensure they remain committed to them.

PSAC members are asked to support the men and women whose human rights complaints may be put on hold until the legislation is changed by writing or calling your Member of Parliament and the Minister of Justice, Anne McLellan, urging them to act quickly. A sample letter is available from your regional office or component office and can also be found on our web site (www.psac-afpc.com).

CHRC TAKES AIM AT FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH TO PAY EQUITY

In its 1997 annual report issued on March 24, (but written before the decisions in the Bell case) the Canadian Human Rights Commission noted that a number of major organizations were determined to use court challenges as a way of delaying or derailing pay equity cases. "For some time, the Commission has been warning that the government's litigious approach to the federal public service case might be setting an unfortunate example."

According to PSAC National Executive Vice-President Nycole Turmel, "the government should be defending the law instead of wasting taxpayers' dollars fighting it. It's high time this government showed some leadership and complied with its own legislation. We challenge Marcel Massé to accept his responsibility as the Treasury Board President and to live up to the legislation which was introduced by his own political party 20 years ago."

INTERNET PROBLEMS ORIGINATE IN U.S.

Members have called complaining of difficulties accessing the PSAC's web site. The technology that bridges all the different phone line companies - Bell, AT&T and others who provide access to the internet, has failed. Problems accessing the internet, and the PSAC's web site, will continue until the companies figure out who's going to fix the problem. The Alliance has complained to Bell Canada but has not been given any indication as to when the problem will be rectified. Members can still access the site, but it may take some time.