Moncton — The New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity is thrilled to announce the launch of its new project, Pay Equity is Coming to Town, which aims to promote the adoption of pay equity policies and practices in New Brunswick municipalities, in order to ensure equal pay for work of equal value.
"The time has come to address pay disparities between women dominated and men dominated jobs in New Brunswick. This funding will enable us to introduce pay equity to municipalities, a workforce not yet covered by pay equity legislation," explains Krysta Cowling, Chair of the Coalition. In the wake of local governance reform, many municipalities are striving to establish coherent and equitable pay structures, and pay equity is, in our view, part of the solution.”
The 29 months-long project is part of a $1.8M funding initiative by Women and Gender Equality Canada for six New Brunswick organizations, including the Coalition. The project's objective is to analyze the context of local governance reform, as well as municipal pay structures and systems, in order to identify and address gaps in their pay equity practices.
The reform resulted in the province reducing the number of local governments from 104 to 77, and the number of rural districts from 236 to 12. “With the amalgamations, the discrepancies between different pay systems quickly became apparent. We need to act quickly to ensure that the new remuneration systems are fair as soon as they are introduced,” added Cowling.
The Coalition seeks collaboration between municipal councils, human resources managers and municipal staff, with the support of the Pay Equity Bureau and municipal associations such as the Association of Municipal Administrators of New Brunswick (AMANB).
“The Coalition's project will give our members access to information and training, as well lay the groundwork enabling pay equity in municipalities. The project is particularly relevant at this time because, following the reform of local governance, some municipalities have undergone amalgamations and staff restricting and are questioning compensation systems,” says Isabelle Thériault, the Executive Director or the AMANB. “This is an ideal opportunity to implement pay equity programs.”
– 30 –
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 the implementation of adequate legislation, as well as public policy dialogue and development.
Pay equity is equal pay for work of equal value. To achieve pay equity, the value of female-dominated jobs must be compared to the value of male-dominated jobs.