The pay equity committee (PEC) for the Government of Canada’s Core Public Administration (CPA), representing approximately 250,000 employees in over 70 departments and agencies, is committed to examining compensation practices with the goal of achieving pay equity for employees in jobs that are commonly held by women.
The CPA PEC membership consists of representatives from all 17 bargaining agents, from non-unionized employees, and from the Treasury Board Secretariat as the Employer. Under the Pay Equity Act we are required to have 50% of the committee made up of women, and we have surpassed this with almost 60% of the membership of our committee identifying as women.
As a committee, we endeavour to work collaboratively with the aim of building consensus, based on principles of fairness, openness, reasonableness, transparency, and trust. This takes time, proper information, and active participation, but making decisions this way allows us to move forward.
The Government of Canada is the largest employer in the country, with a vast variety of work. The committee first met in September 2023 and has been meeting on a regular basis.
We have finalized terms of reference to guide our committee in the process of developing the plan. We have also begun work on identifying job classes made up of positions in the CPA. This first step in developing a proactive pay equity plan is a requirement outlined in the Pay Equity Act.
The committee will next be reviewing the data on the hundreds of job classes in the CPA. This will take some time. We are approaching this work with diligence and deliberation, so that we can make reliable comparisons between job classes in order to determine the value of work at a later stage of the process.
Our committee is committed to delivering and advancing this important work. We are invested in this proactive process of identifying systemic gender-based discrimination in compensation. We want to help create an inclusive public service where women receive equal pay for work of equal value.
If you are interested in knowing more about this process, please review the links below, in particular the video from the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
Associated Links
For more information, see CAPE’s Issue page on Pay Equity. Should you have any questions please contact general@ acep-cape.ca.
