HISTORY

In June 2001, the federal Ministers of Justice and Labour appointed the Pay Equity Task Force to conduct a comprehensive review of the equal pay provisions of the Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA, section 11) and the Equal Wages Guidelines, 1986 and make recommendations to ensure the effective implementation of pay equity in the workplace.

Section 11 of the CHRA provides for a complaint-based pay equity framework which has been the target of increasing criticism over the past few decades. Lack of clarity related to key concepts and methodologies has resulted in adversarial workplace relationships, and in protracted and costly litigation which has in some cases lasted well over ten years.

As part of its mandate, the Task Force commissioned independent research relevant to pay equity issues and conducted a Canada-wide consultation process which included public hearings in 7 major cities (Vancouver, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Halifax), a series of Roundtables with major stakeholder groups (employers, unions, equality seeking organizations), and other meetings with representatives of federal and provincial agencies administering pay equity or related legislation, and with private consulting firms.

CURRENT FEDERAL PAY EQUITY LEGISLATION

Section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which applies to all federally-regulated employers, indicates that it is discriminatory for an employer to establish or maintain different wages for male and female employees doing work of equal value in the same establishment. Federally-regulated employers include the federal Public Service, some Crown Corporations, as well as private sector employers in industries such as transportation, banking, and telecommunications.

The Equal Wages Guidelines, 1986 prescribe the manner in which section 11 is to be applied and also outline various factors which may justify deviation from the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

Responsibility for pay equity in federal jurisdiction is shared by the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) and the Labour Program of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) (previously Human Resources Development Canada).

SHORTCOMINGS OF CURRENT FEDERAL PAY EQUITY LEGISLATIVE MODEL

Stakeholders and members of the public have been increasingly critical of the current federal pay equity model over the past decades for a number of reasons, including:

• Lack of clarity with respect to definitions of key concepts, standards and methodologies, including the meaning of "establishment", occupational group, gender-neutral job evaluation, and wage adjustment methods.

• Frequent challenges to the methodologies selected for job evaluation and wage adjustment.

• Timeliness and effectiveness of the current system which has been characterized by protracted and costly litigation, and concomitant delays in correcting wage inequities.

• Inaccessibility of the system to individual and non-unionized employees.

WHY DO WE NEED PAY EQUITY LEGISLATION?

First and foremost, pay equity legislation reflects Canada's domestic and international obligations.

Canada has equality guarantees under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act. The Government of Canada has also ratified a number of international agreements which make a commitment to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value, including the Equal Remuneration Convention (ILO No. 100), in 1972, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1976, and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1981.

There are wage inequities in federally-regulated workplaces which have proved resistant to change.

Key findings of the Task Force indicate:

Canadian women still earn less, on average, than men. The wage gap in Canada persists, regardless of the gains made by women. Canadian Census data indicate that in 2000, full-time women workers earned, on average, approximately 71 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. Research and case studies indicate that part of the wage gap is due to discrimination resulting from female dominated jobs being paid less than male dominated jobs of equal value.

Inequitable compensation results from the invisibility and undervaluation of many requirements of predominantly female jobs. The lack of recognition of women's productive contribution seriously demeans the dignity of female employees.

Lower paycheques mean increased family poverty, increased child poverty, and a less secure retirement. Increased poverty can have a significant impact on health care, community services and housing.

Occupational segregation thrives. Women continue to be employed in a limited amount of occupations which are highly female dominated. Statistics Canada data indicate that in 2002, 70% of all Canadian women workers were employed in teaching, health care, sales or administrative work. In addition, the data shows that the higher the percentage of women in an occupation, the lower the wage, not just for women but for all employees in those positions.

Other disadvantaged groups suffer similar discrimination. Other groups of Canadian workers (visible minorities, persons with disabilities and Aboriginal people) face the same wage inequity problems as women.

TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Pay Equity Task Force has made 113 recommendations aimed at strengthening Canada's commitment to pay equity and equality, improving access to pay equity, reducing the costs of litigation and uncertainty, and improving workplace relationships. It proposes new stand-alone, proactive legislation to be characterized as human rights legislation.

What will this recommended legislative framework do?

• Affirm that pay equity is a human right and ensure the effective implementation of pay equity in the workplace.

• Create certainty and a level playing field - place obligations on all employers, including the Parliament of Canada, to take positive steps to implement and maintain pay equity, not just those subject to a complaint.

• Expand coverage to include federal contractors covered by the Federal Contractors Program.

• Provide for comprehensive coverage of all employees, including part-time, casual, temporary, and seasonal.

• Clarify standards, criteria, definitional concepts and methodologies.

• Specify timeframes for each step of the pay equity process, including development, implementation and maintenance.

• Clarify the responsibilities of employers and employee representatives.

• Provide for the involvement of employees, unionized and non-unionized, in the pay equity process.

• Promote cooperative labour management relations by involving employers and employee representatives in the development, implementation and maintenance of pay equity.

• Provide for independent and expert oversight agencies (the Canadian Pay Equity Commission and the Canadian Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal) with adequate remedial and enforcement powers and sufficient resources to administer and interpret the new legislation as well as to provide effective training, public education, advocacy services and adjudication services.

• Provide for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

• Provide some flexibility for smaller employers. For example, only employers with 15 or more employees must develop a pay equity plan.

Attachments:

List of Recommendations
Pay Equity: Some Basics