(Montreal) An agreement, awaited for several years, was finally reached between the Treasury Board and three large unions concerning pay equity for thousands of office and administrative employees in health and social services establishments .
The unions estimate the total number at around 30,000. These workers, 90% of whom are women, could thus receive thousands of dollars, thanks to an agreement which has just been concluded to resolve a series of complaints to maintain equity salary.
The agreement concerns members of office staff in the health and social services network: administrative agents, medical secretaries, executive assistants, for example.
The three unions which have just reached an agreement with the Treasury Board are the Fédération de la santé et des services sociales, affiliated with the CSN, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Syndicat québécois des employes de service (SQEES), the latter two being affiliated with the FTQ.
The union bodies concerned are currently studying the details of the agreement. The CUPE body approved it. It will now be submitted to staff members.
The amounts to be paid will vary depending on the seniority of the worker, her salary level and her status: full-time or part-time.
The principle of pay equity is to recognize the true value of typically female work. According to the procedure, job titles are evaluated by weighing several factors. If necessary, salary adjustments are then made.
Subsequently, we check whether pay equity is maintained every five years, since job requirements can change over time.
This issue of pay equity for these office and administration employees has dragged on for several years. Some complaints dated back to 2010, others to 2015. The unions were trying to find a satisfactory settlement with the Treasury Board to resolve the entire matter.
A petition was launched last spring to speed up the processing of the file. The unions maintained that “the tasks and responsibilities linked to the job titles covered by these complaints have evolved significantly in recent years” and that the Treasury Board must therefore take this into account in remuneration.