N.L. public sector pay equity legislation earns mixed reviews from stakeholders, opposition

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has unveiled details of its long-awaited pay equity legislation to mixed reviews from opposition members and stakeholders.

If passed, the new bill will mandate pay equity but only in the public sector. Public bodies will be required to implement compensation practices which value jobs based on four criteria: skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

At a news conference on Monday, where she was joined by Finance Minister Siobhan Coady and Labour Minister Bernard Davis, Women and Gender Equality Minister Pam Parsons said the legislation is a "tool" to address the gender wage gap in Newfoundland and Labrador.

"Pay equity legislation will enshrine in law the equitable pay practices that core government has been doing for years," she said.

The legislation will apply to all public bodies, except employers with fewerthan 10 employees. The legislation also will not apply to students, contractual employees, the judiciary, MHAs or people conducting investigations on behalf of the House of Assembly.

The legislation will come into effect on April 1 for core government, which Coady said employs about 10,000 people. She said core government is already 85 per cent compliant with pay equity because of its job evaluation system, which was implemented in 2015.

She said the change on April 1 will affect about 1,300 employees.

"We will take the practices that guide our job evaluation system and make them law," she said.

Coady said other public bodies are "at various stages of compliance" with pay equity. The legislation does not set a date for when other public bodies will have to comply with the new rules, but Coady said the provincial government plans to complete the process "expeditiously."

Once the legislation has come into effect, public bodies will have to submit compliance reports to a pay equity officer, appointed under the Public Service Commission Act, who in turn will have to submit reports to the House of Assembly.

A long time coming

In 2017, the provincial government unanimously voted on a private member's bill to begin the process of enacting pay equity legislation. The government struck an interdepartmental committee to explore the legislation, but didn't take any further action for five years.

This summer, Premier Andrew Furey said the provincial government would introduce "progressive" pay equity legislation. Parsons, Coady and Davis all said they believed the legislation is progressive.

Newfoundland and Labrador is one of just four provinces without such legislation. Ontario and Quebec are the only two provinces with pay equity legislation covering the private sector.

Parsons, Davis and Coady did not say when the new rules will come into effect for other public bodies.

The three ministers said the provincial government plans to use the legislation as a framework to consult private sector stakeholders about implementing private sector pay equity legislation.

"I think there will be meaningful discussions on how best to implement outside the public sector, into the private sector," Coady said.

All three ministers repeatedly refused to commit to a timeline for implementingpay equity in the private sector.

Stakeholders, opposition react

Lisa Faye, executive director of the St. John's Status of Women Council, said she was happy the provincial government didn't move forward with private sector pay equity legislation because the proper consultations haven't been completed.

"What I want the government to do is to have those consultations, and to make sure that we're building a pay equity legislation for the private sector that meets the needs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians," she said.

She said the grouphasn't had consultations regarding private sector pay equity legislation and she wants them to happen withinthe next month.

"There's nothing that should be delaying those. It's a matter of setting up a plan and carrying it out," she said.

In a statement, the St. John's Board of Trade didn't specifically support pay equity legislation for the private sector, but did support closing the gender wage gap. The BOT committed to an "active role" in consultations regarding private sector pay equity and pay transparency legislation.

"Our role as a business association is to bring the voice of the business community forward, and work to understand the impact of legislation," said the Board of Trade.

Helen Conway Ottenheimer, PC opposition Women and Gender Equality critic, said the legislation is a step, but doesn't go far enough and needs more consultation.

"This has been in play for so many years. Why is this taking so long?" she asked.

NDP MHA Lela Evans said she believes the legislation was a knee-jerk reaction to public scrutiny.

"This exposure caused them to all of a sudden have to rush to put something forward," she said.

Pay transparency coming

The legislation will implement pay transparency in the public and private sectors. Under the new rules, employers will not be allowed to request pay history and will have to include expected pay in public job postings.

Labour Minister Bernard Davis said the legislation will act as a framework, and the government will consult stakeholders such asthe Board of Trade while developing regulations.

"We want to work with businesses throughout the process, and feel it's important that their voices are heard," he said.

He didn't say how long the consultations will last, but said they'll begin before the end of the year, and details on the process will be released "in the coming weeks."

Some employers will be required to prepare pay transparency reports, but Davis said the government hasn't yet determined which employers will have to submit the reports.

Individuals can be fined up to $1,000 and employers can be fined up to $25,000 for violating the the new rules.

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