FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 30, 1998
AFL applauds federal pay equity decision
Cormack urges province and municipalities
to "get with the program"
EDMONTON – The decision on pay equity that was handed down yesterday by the federal Human Rights Tribunal is a tremendous victory for all Canadian working women, says the president of Alberta’s largest union organization, the Alberta Federation of Labour. "It obviously a victory for women working in the federal public service. They are finally going be paid appropriately for the work they do," says Audrey Cormack. "But it’s also a victory for other working women. The tribunal has sent a clear message that women should not be discriminated against when it comes to wages and salaries." Cormack says that while the tribunal’s decision may not directly apply to employers outside the federal civil service and federally regulated industries like communications and transportation, it definitely sets a "moral precedent" that unions can use when bargaining here in Alberta. "It’s going to be much harder now for employers in both the public and private sectors to justify wage structures that discriminate against women," says Cormack. "The decision simply reinforces a principle that most Canadians have already embraced: namely that workers, regardless of gender, should receive equal pay for work of equal value." Now that the tribunal has made its ruling, Cormack says the Alberta government and governments at the municipal level should take a closer look at how they pay their own workers. "It’s time for governments in Alberta to get with the program," she says. "We’re one of the only provinces in the country that still doesn’t have some kind of pay equity legislation. We clearly need laws that would help guarantee justice for women in the workplace." Even if the Alberta government and municipalities around the province refuse to "do the right thing" and bring in pay-equity legislation, Cormack says unions will continue to fight for better pay for women workers. "Pay equity legislation would make things a lot easier," says Cormack. "But many unions in this province have already been successful in bargaining higher wages for their women members. We will continue to use the bargaining process to help close the gap between wages for men and women."
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