This text is part of the special section The 50 years of the CSD
Since the creation of the Central of Democratic Trade Unions (CSD) in 1972, feminist struggles have always been at the heart of its concerns. The organization continues its fight to improve the status of women, both in terms of pay equity and family-work balance.
“We have demanded pay equity from the start,” sums up Sophie Bédard, provincial responsible for the status of women at the CSD. She cites in particular the participation of the trade union center in the great march of bread and roses, launched by Françoise David in 1995.
To respond to the issues of the status of women, working groups were set up ten years earlier. “At the time, regional committees were going to check what the problems of women were in the workplace,” recalls Ms.me Bedard. In 1991, it was the turn of the provincial committee to be created, with the aim of bringing claims “further, higher in the political sphere”, she adds. Each year, these groups continue to survey their members to improve their conditions.
But the fight for fairness is not over for the CSD. According to Statistics Canada, in 2021, there was still a wage gap of 4.2% among unionized employees, compared to 13.3% among non-unionized employees. The central labor body, through briefs and proceedings in parliamentary committee, is calling for changes to the Pay Equity Act.
Involving employees more would help improve the application of the law, which currently provides for the maintenance of pay equity every five years. “On the other hand, there is no obligation for workers to participate in this maintenance of pay equity,” specifies Ms.me Bedard. Thus, a boss can decide to change the way he evaluates employees to his advantage, letting the gaps persist, she points out.
The CSD would therefore like such maintenance exercises to be carried out every year. “It is sure that continuously, it would be ideal”, hopes the trade unionist. But the fact of carrying out an annual evaluation would allow the women’s committees to do their job better, she specifies. The current frequency causes us to “forget things, changes that can take place. Whereas, if we do this once a year, everything is fresher in our head,” she argues. She also wants employees to participate in this task, which the employer can currently decide to do alone.
Better family-work balance
If the pandemic has caused a breakdown of the boundaries between personal and professional life, the CSD is campaigning for a better reconciliation, which will benefit not only women, but also men, believes Ms.me Bedard.
Revalorization of predominantly female professions, keeping women who have children in the labor market, “we have a lot of demands to this effect”, she lists. The CSD also wishes to improve the conditions of workers who work in less well paid sectors. “This would make it possible to return them to the labor market with better conditions,” explains Ms.me Bedard.
“Women are leaving the job market because they don’t have a place in daycare,” she observes. The CSD therefore wants to improve family leave in order to allow employees to take care of their children, but also of their parents. Thus, the central union demands that the number of paid days off be increased to 10 per year. Currently, the law provides for only two paid days and eight others at the employee’s expense.
“Since women are often in more precarious environments, this wage loss has greater impacts than for men currently,” said the provincial official for the status of women.
However, the CSD’s main demand remains the drafting of a law on family-work balance. “This would force employers to adopt policies, but also measures” aimed at facilitating such a thing, argues Sophie Bédard.
Flexibility of hours, end of compulsory overtime, measures of this kind would allow parents to better discharge their family responsibilities. “It is sometimes a problem to pick up the children”, illustrates the trade unionist.
Other important issues
While a recent study by the University of Sherbrooke concluded that containment policies are linked to a marked increase in cases of domestic violence, the CSD wants measures for several types of abuse such as psychological and sexual harassment in Workplace.
Research has shown that more than one out of six Quebec women in a couple experienced domestic violence last October. 3.2% of respondents said they experienced physical violence during this period. “It’s a very important issue for us,” said Ms.me Bedard.
According to her, the solution would consist in better equipping men on how to intervene correctly with women. “How to have more egalitarian relationships? There are stereotypes about women, but men are also subject to them. And without properly educating men, violence against women will continue,” she says.
“It will also take more steps to help men navigate this societal shift in thinking. And it is with long-term education that we will get there. »
A gender-based analysis would also make it possible to respond to several challenges experienced by women. “It’s a cross-cutting issue to all the others,” explains Ms.me Bédard, who points out that the impacts of various laws are not the same according to gender. “And even among women among themselves,” she says. If it was a tool that was well applied, we could eliminate many of the issues related to gender and gender equality. »