News

Québec City – The APTS, CSN, CSQ, FAE, FIQ, FTQ and SFPQ will be heard by the Superior Court starting tomorrow as they challenge provisions of the2019 Pay Equity Act.

The unions assert that one key principle is at the heart of their legal battle: women in the labour force have a right to wages that are not affected by discrimination, and when discrimination is found to exist, they must be given the full amount they are owed.

This principle was the basis of a decision handed down by the Supreme Court in 2018 that invalidated certain provisions of Québec’s pay equity regime. The Québec government was forced to rewrite the law, Canada’s highest court having found that provisions blocking retroactivity for pay adjustments were a form of discrimination against women.

However, as the unions will argue before the Superior Court beginning on Tuesday, these discriminatory provisions were maintained in the new law enacted by the government in 2019.

Some unions are also challenging other aspects of the law, including aspects related to freedom of association.

“Almost thirty years after the adoption of the Pay Equity Act, we’re still fighting to ensure female workers get what they’re owed,” said the union leaders. “We’re not talking about technical details here. This is about money that they never received.”

The unions noted that pay equity, which is intended to correct systemic pay discrimination affecting predominantly female job classes, is not just an abstract principle. When a female worker is deprived of the pay to which she is entitled, the impact goes beyond her actual pay cheque, affecting her social benefits and her economic security.

“This legal battle is about women who have been underpaid for years,” said the union leaders. “It’s not about experts quibbling over numbers. These women aren’t looking for a handout – what they’re asking for is what they’re entitled to. That’s why we’re going to court.”

Sources:

APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux)

CSN (Confédération des syndicats nationaux)

CSQ (Centrale des syndicats du Québec)

FAE (Fédération autonome de l’enseignement)

FIQ (Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec)

FTQ (Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)

SFPQ (Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ)