No. 32 October 23, 1998

Pay Equity Bulletin 31 outlined the offer Treasury Board presented to Table 1 during the last set of conciliation meetings in late September. In the meantime the Alliance has developed the pay calculations with the consultant who was the author of the Canadian Human Rights Commission’s (CHRC) methodology. This methodology was subsequently accepted by the Tribunal.

The tables on the following pages are the results of these calculations. They show, by group, sub-group and level:

The population figures provided by Treasury Board

PSAC’s calculation of the ongoing pay equity adjustments;

The Treasury Board offer to Table 1 for ongoing adjustments;

PSAC’s calculations of the interest owed for 1997 and 1998 (the same period as the TB offer);

Treasury Board’s offer on interest for 1997-98;

PSAC’s calculations of the retroactive payments owed from March 8, 1985 to 1997;

PSAC’s calculations of the retroactive interest owed from March 8, 1985 to 1997;

Treasury Board’s latest offer on retroactive payments and interest.

 

All the amounts listed as PSAC calculations represent the Union’s position, based on the approved methodology and confirmed by the CHRC consultant. However, the Tribunal decision says that the specific pay equity adjustment for each level must be negotiated between the Alliance and Treasury Board. Therefore, the final adjustments may be somewhat different from the figures listed on page 3.

In addition, all the ongoing amounts are subject to change because they do not include the increases for male groups which will be effective for 1997 and 1998. And, according to the Tribunal decision, the differences must be calculated for each year.

Looking at the population figures for each sub-group and level, it becomes clear that Treasury Board has made lower offers to those groups with the largest numbers of current employees. It also becomes clear that the amount of money overall which is required to resolve our pay equity complaint in accordance with the methodology specified by the Tribunal is much greater than anything Treasury Board has offered to date. In other words, TB is still trying to get away with paying less than our members are owed.

The retroactive figures for both the pay equity payments and interest are for the entire period, 1985 to 1997. Anyone who did not work for the entire period will be entitled to less. However, you cannot simply divide the total amount by the actual number of years or months you worked. Why? Because the amount owed per year is calculated year by year and varies depending on what wage increases were received by the male groups. Similarly, the interest is calculated, year by year, based on Canada Savings Bonds rates, which have varied significantly over the years.

No figures for the HS group have been included in these tables. The combination of regional rates of pay and population figures which are not clear make any calculations at this time unreliable. The union is continuing to work on this.

While Marcel Massé and others continue to refer to the government’s $1.3-billion offer for retroactivity, we have listed TB’s offer for retroactive pay and interest as zero. In discussions on September 22, TB indicated it might be prepared to hold further talks but that no payments would be made, other than their proposed interim ongoing payments. In addition, none of their offers to date have included interest payments.

 

The Alliance reiterates its position that there is nothing wrong with the government making downpayments on what is owed while the details of the Tribunal decision are worked out. If the government is truly serious about giving our members some of the money they are owed, they can go ahead and make the payments. And, while they’re doing it, everyone should be included - former as well as current employees. After all, everyone can use the money they’re owed.

Because Treasury Board’s offer for ongoing payments covers the period 1997 and 1998, we have separated out the applicable interest for this period so that their offer and our calculations can be easily compared. It should be noted that interest payments are not folded into salaries.

The amounts calculated by the PSAC for ongoing pay equity adjustments and for retroactive payments, as well as the Treasury Board’s offer on ongoing payments, are all in addition to any pay equity adjustments already being paid or any retroactive payments made in the past.

The PSAC’s calculations of ongoing and retroactive payments include 13 cents per hour to compensate for indirect wages such as supervisory differential, inmate training plan allowance, diving allowance, etc. In 1997, the union reached an informal agreement with TB on this figure, which would be included in salaries. TB’s latest offer is an annual payment of $250.00, which would not be included in salaries. It is not included in the column which shows their offer.