This text is part of the special Syndicalism booklet
Discrimination based on sex, flexibility of schedules, parental leave, difference between equity and equality, the Pay Equity Act has raised many issues in the last two decades. According to the Éducaloi website, pay equity consists in offering a person occupying a female job the same salary as a person occupying an equivalent male job, even if it is different.
“25 years later, I think we could qualify this law as a great project, but above all an unfinished project, believes Luc Vachon, president of the CSD. Let’s be honest, there are still significant gaps between men’s and women’s compensation, and it’s even more blatant in non-union workplaces. »
When is equity?
When it comes to non-union work environments, women don’t give up. Indeed, according to CSD statistics, 83.6% of women working in the private sector work in environments that are not unionized. Still according to the CSD, when the law was introduced in 1997, the gap between men’s and women’s wages was 10.6% in unionized workplaces, and 22.1% in non-unionized workplaces. . In 2021, the gap in unionized workplaces was 4.2% compared to 13.3% in non-unionized workplaces. If the pace continues, it will therefore be necessary to wait another 38 years for women working in non-unionized environments to be able to have the same salary as men.
Twenty-five years ago, the introduction of the Pay Equity Act led to the implementation of pay equity exercises within companies. These exercises consist of determining, for each job, whether it is predominantly male or female; to take into account all the characteristics of these jobs based on four factors: the qualifications required, the responsibilities assumed, the effort required and the conditions in which the work is carried out; to identify and compare the salaries of equivalent jobs; and finally, to correct the discrepancies that may exist between these salaries.
Employers are now required by law to inform their employees of the results and to make a full report to the CNESST. However, the establishment of specialized committees on the issue or even the participation of employees in discussions related to pay equity are optional.
To change things
Within Quebec companies, these exercises are only carried out every five years. According to Mr. Vachon, this is precisely where the crux of the problem lies.
“We recommend that the exercise be done at least annually in each company. It is not normal that participation in these exercises is optional. In companies that are not unionized and have fewer resources, it is even more problematic. The Pay Equity Act is complex, and the exercise is only done every five years, so no real expertise has been developed in relation to that. It becomes very difficult for these workers to check whether there is compliance. »
Better supervision of companies, mandatory participation of employees in discussions that directly concern them, but above all adequate training and the creation of specialized committees on the issue of equity in all companies: this is what Luc Vachon is proposing in order to remedy the shortcomings of the law.