Public Service Alliance of Canada presentation to the House of Commons Special Committee on Pay Equity April 18, 2016

Public Service Alliance of Canada
                presentation to the
House of Commons Special Committee on Pay Equity
                   April 18, 2016

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) represents
140,000 members who are covered by either the Canadian
Human Rights Act (CHRA) or the Public Sector Equitable
Compensation Act (PSECA) including:

      Federal public service
      Federal Agencies
      Crown Corporations
      Airports
      Ports
      Museums

The union has almost 40 years of experience with pay equity
complaints, more than any other stakeholder.                2

Milestones in the complaint process
 1977: The Canadian Human Rights Act, including pay equity provisions in sections 7
  and 11, is enacted.
 1979: PSAC files its first pay equity complaints
 1983: Complaint filed against Canada Post Corporation for the Clerical and Regulatory
  (CR) group. It took a total of 30 years to resolve the complaint including 415 days of
  hearings and 46,000 pages of testimony over a 10-year period at a Human Rights
  Tribunal. In 2011 the Supreme Court ruled from the bench and ordered Canada Post to
  pay up. It took until 2013 for the Corporation to agree on payments.
 1984: Complaint filed against Treasury Board for the CR group. Following the
  government’s rejection of the results of a four-year joint union management study, the
  complaint was expanded to include five other female-dominated groups. The
  complaint went as far as the Federal Court (Trial Division). It was resolved in 1999 for
  over 200,000 current and former employees.
 2002: Complaints filed against a number of separate employers. Some were settled in
  2013, others continue to be contested through the Human Rights Commission and the
  courts.                                                                         3

Based on the union’s experiences with the
complaint-based system under the
Canadian Human Rights Act, PSAC believes
the Pay Equity Task Force Report
recommendations provide the best
blueprint available for proceeding to adopt
pro-active federal pay equity legislation.

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Findings of the Task Force:
From 2002 to 2004, the Pay Equity Task Force commissioned several research report,
heard many witnesses, organized round tables and high level discussions. Throughout this
process, several areas of consensus emerged, as noted in the Task Force Report. (p. 6)
1. A strong commitment to the principle of pay equity.
2. Recognition that pay equity is a human right and is protected by our constitutional
equality rights provisions.
3. Recognition that employers have a positive obligation to take steps to eliminate wage
differences which discriminate on the basis of sex.
4. A pay equity regime must be accessible to both unionized and non-unionized
employees.
5. A statutory regime should provide guidance as to the standards which are to be met.
6. There is a need for a neutral source of assistance, information and support.
7. Ultimate recourse to an independent adjudicative body with expertise in pay equity
issues must be available.
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The PSAC is pleased to see that this Committee is
mandated to propose a plan to adopt a proactive
pay equity regime for the federal sector and to
implement the 2004 Pay Equity Task Force
recommendations.

We are of the opinion that it is important to move forward
with this agenda, rather than trying to improve the current
complaints-based system under the Canadian Human
Rights Act or the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act.

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The CHRA complaints-based model is flawed
PSAC’s complaints demonstrate some of the problems with a complaints-based
system.

 It is fundamentally adversarial requiring legal expertise

 It takes an inordinate amount of time and resources both human and financial

 As a result, it is inaccessible for anyone who does not have the support of a large union
  or unlimited funds

 Budget cuts affecting federal institutions such as the Canadian Human Rights
  Commission and Tribunal contribute to delays in processing, investigating and
  conducting hearings into complaints

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It is not surprising then that the Pay Equity Task Force concluded that the regime
under section 11 of the CHRA is an “inadequate foundation” for progress on pay
equity:

          “Those who took part in our consultation process - workers, trade
          unions, employer representatives, equality-seeking groups,
          government officials and tribunal members- do not always agree on
          the details of acceptable changes. Yet there was virtually universal
          agreement among them that the current system does not constitute
          an effective means of advancing towards equitable wages. They
          have experienced frustration, uncertainty, lengthy delays, an
          acrimonious atmosphere, and staggering costs associated not only
          with the outcome, but with the very process itself. Most importantly
          perhaps the process has proved inaccessible to a large number of
          workers, many of them the most vulnerable.” (at p. 108)

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The Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act is contrary to the
                        Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

PSECA was included in a 2009 omnibus budget implementation bill.

PSAC and several other public service unions have filed Charter challenges to PSECA because:

•   It proposed a complex regime that only applied to women workers in the federal public sector
    and weakened the mechanisms through which they could access pay equity. We argued that
    this is contrary to section 15 equality rights guarantees of the Charter.

•   It prevented unions from supporting their own members in filing complaints (and would even
    fine them) contrary to section 2(d) of the Charter, that guarantees freedom of association.

PSECA also removed pay equity from a human rights framework, requiring unions to bargain
‘equitable compensation’ for its members during the collective bargaining process.

                          To date PSECA has not been brought into force.
               As a result, repealing it is unlikely to have significant consequences.

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Adopt the Task Force recommendations

PSAC strongly urges this Committee to support the
comprehensive work done by the Pay Equity Task Force and
adopt a proactive federal pay equity law.

   “The proactive approach to pay equity is different from the traditional
   complaints-based model of pay equity in that it does not rely on a complaint
   to initiate a pay equity review. It places positive obligations on employers to
   review their compensation practices, identify any gender-based inequities,
   and take steps to eliminate them…It is a systemic approach to a systemic
   issue.” (P. 111)

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The Task Force recommended:
   The adoption of a new proactive pay equity law.

   All employees in the federal jurisdiction be covered by the new pro-active pay
    equity legislation, including non-unionized employees, part-time, casual, seasonal
    and temporary workers.

   The expansion of pay equity coverage to include women and Aboriginal workers,
    workers with disabilities and workers of colour.

   The new proactive law include workers and their unions in developing pay equity
    studies and in maintaining pay equity over time.

   That pay equity not be on the bargaining table.

   A Commission be set up to assist employers, employees and unions. And that an
    expert Tribunal be established to quickly decide disputes between the parties.
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Respect for working women’s equality rights

 An international review of pay equity regimes around the world, conducted by the
  International Labour Organization, has concluded that the most effective model is a
  proactive law that requires employers to set up mechanisms to ensure pay equity.

 Since the Pay Equity Task Force report was tabled, the Labour movement, women’s
  groups and human rights organizations have called for the implementation of its
  recommendations.

 The Standing Committee on the Status on Women has tabled several reports calling for
  the implementation of these recommendations.

 Both the Liberal party and the New Democratic Party have tabled private Member’s bills
  calling for the implementation of the Task Force recommendations.

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The time for action is
       now.
The PSAC urges this Committee to
recommend that the government
proceed without any further delay
and adopt comprehensive proactive
federal pay equity legislation.

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