Less than a month remains before the deadline for federally regulated workplaces to publish their plans to enact pay equity. The Pay Equity Act of 2021 requires workplaces to have a plan ready by September 3 this year. Many unions have come forward with stories that show the ongoing issues with negotiating these plans.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), for example, is facing potential delays on the pay equity plan. The Treasury Board Secretariat currently has a pending request to get more time to create the plan for the Core Public Administration.
Last month, the Treasury Board’s request for an extension on the RCMP pay equity plan was approved. PSAC said the government has been dragging its feet since the Act passed in 2021.
“As Canada’s largest employer [the government] should be setting an example for other employers across the country, particularly in light of their self-proclaimed feminist principles,” PSAC wrote on their website.
The core public administration employs 270,000 people in 630 job classes, according to the Government of Canada.
The government has highlighted the immense scope their plans must cover. When discussing the extensions requested, the government mentioned on their website the numerous people these plans must serve.
“The work to develop pay equity plans is unprecedented in the federal jurisdiction given the diversity and complexity of the workforce,” the government website reads. “The scope of work across the core public administration is particularly immense, representing the diversity of the needs of the country it serves.”
In other workplaces, time allotted to making these plans have been insufficient, leading to delays. Lana Payne is the president of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union. She wrote to Minister of Justice and Attorney General Arif Virani, at the end of July to urge him to ensure plans come out by the September deadline.
Payne wrote that Unifor members on pay equity committees have reported problematic behavior from employers. Some have failed to allocate adequate time and resources needed to meet the Act’s deadline. Some employers have even ignored requests for meetings to establish a committee.
Payne requested that more resources be put towards the Pay Equity Commission so it can properly enforce the legislation.
Unifor bargains with more than 190 federally regulated employers. As of July 31, Payne wrote, she is aware of only six employers who have posted a draft plan. Of those six, three have concluded that no pay adjustments are required.
“Many employers have misunderstood the role of pay equity consultants, and some are attempting to block genuine engagement of pay equity committees,” Payne wrote. “A number of Unifor members sitting on pay equity committees have reported that their employers have appeared at the first pay equity committee meeting simply to present a fully developed and completed pay equity plan prepared by a consultant as a fait accompli.”
Payne wrote that she does not think Unifor’s experiences are isolated. In interactions with other employee representatives, it has become clear that issues exist across the board.
Despite the difficulties, workers remain steadfast in the struggle for pay equity.
“We hope that the experiences outlined in this letter will help illustrate the need for timely and significant resources to the team who assists parties in meeting the set objectives,” Payne wrote. “Unifor believes that achieving pay equity in the workplace is integral to the fight for justice and equality at work.”
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