"I have post-secondary education and almost 20 years of experience. Yet my son, who graduated high school last year, makes about as much as I do.”
— Front-line worker
Moncton — The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity is launching the report Our Work Matters and a microsite on the realities faced by workers in the community sector. These new resources reveal the silent crisis undermining the community sector in New Brunswick: an underpaid and exhausted workforce, and insufficient funding to sustain crucial services.
From March to November 2025, the Coalition conducted an extensive consultation with more than 290 workers and managers from over 50 non-profit organizations. The report and microsite, available at equitablenb.ca, present their testimonies, key data, and resources to promote fair wages and decent working conditions in the sector.
The organizations consulted provide essential services to the population: transition houses, anti-poverty organizations, immigration support organizations, rights advocacy organizations, and many more. The workforce is predominantly made up of women (66%)[1], whose average annual salary ($30,827) is well below the provincial average ($53,102)[2].
"Community work is essential to the well-being of our society," explained Johanne Perron, Executive Director of the Coalition. "Yet the workers who deliver these services — the majority of whom are women — are too often left behind. That needs to change."
The Coalition's consultations revealed a reality common across the sector: workers are passionate but underpaid and exhausted, working conditions are precarious, and the sector remains underfunded despite the importance of community work. The solution is clear: adequate funding for organizations and wages that reflect the true value of the work.
"As the needs of the population continue to grow, the community sector is being asked to do more and more with fewer resources, which is a situation that is no longer sustainable. Now more than ever, we need a strong and resilient sector," added Perron.
The Coalition and its partners invite the public to visit the microsite to discover the reality of the people who deliver the services our communities rely on.
Among the 290 voices heard, a few testimonies that illustrate the reality on the ground:
“I don’t know anyone who would take a punch to the head or have their life threatened repeatedly for $26 an hour.”
— Front-line worker
“Many employees in this sector are in it because they want to help and do good. That doesn't mean they don't deserve a salary that would allow them to be able to live and adapt to the rising cost of living.”
— Front-line worker
“Personally, I have experienced food and housing insecurity, even while employed. Why? Because each new contract comes with its share of financial delays, and you have to continually make up for the losses accumulated during periods of job hunting. This cycle is exhausting and prevents you from building long-term stability, both professionally and personally.”
− Middle management staff
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The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity is a group of individuals and organizations that pursues and ensures the realization of the right to pay equity and to just conditions of work for women. To that end, the Coalition engages in communication, education, research, advocacy for the adoption and implementation of adequate legislation, as well as public policy dialogue and development.
The community sector encompasses non-profit organizations that support vulnerable populations through the delivery of social services, offer community programs and services, and advocate for equity and social justice.
[1] Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0651-01 Employment in the non-profit sector by demographic characteristic
[2] Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0417-01 Employee wages by occupation, annual and Statistics Canada. Table 36-10-0650-01 Employment in the non-profit sector by type of worker