GNWT and union settle 13-year pay-equity dispute

DENISE RIDEOUT

After 13 long years of legal wrangling, the equal-pay-for-equal-work dispute between the Government of the Northwest Territories and thousands of its employees has come to an end.

On June 25, the NWT government and the union representing workers announced they had settled their long-standing battle over pay equity.

The dispute began in 1989 when the union, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, filed a complaint against the Government of the Northwest Territories, claiming that wages for “female-dominated” jobs, such as nursing, interpreting and secretarial work were lower than wages for male-dominated jobs of equal work.

The union argued that the government was in essence discriminating against female employees by paying them less.

The $50-million settlement means thousands of those employees will be compensated for years of low wages.

“It’s a nice, warm, fuzzy thing in their lives now,” said Doug Workman, president of Nunavut Employees Union, the association that represents territorial government workers. Members who worked for the NWT government when Nunavut was still part of that territory will receive compensation.

“Generally speaking, the people I spoke to were really relieved. It brought closure to a hard part of their lives where they felt discriminated against,” Workman said in an interview.

Compensation includes interest

Under the settlement, current and former full-time and term employees who worked in a variety of female-dominated jobs between March 28, 1989, and March 31, 1998, will receive compensation cheques.

According to a NWT government press release, the compensation payments will be based on the employee’s position and length of time in the job.

Casual employees will also receive compensation. And time spent on maternity or disability leave is also eligible for compensation, the press release says.

The amount will include both principal and interest — which could be substantial because the case goes back 13 years — though the sum will differ for each employee.

Those eligible for compensation must contact the GNWT before Dec. 31, 2004, to receive payment.

About half the settlement has already been distributed to 4,300 current and former unionized government employees. The NWT government will begin issuing the remaining compensation cheques in December.

Some have passed away

Immediately following the announcement, Workman fielded calls from about 40 people who, at one time or another, had worked for the NWT government.

He said the overwhelming feeling among them was of relief. “People went through a lot, it was a long wait and it was a hard battle,” he said. “We’re talking 13-plus years. That’s a long time.”

In that 13 years, some of the union sisters passed away before they saw the dispute settled. “To me, that’s sad,” Workman said.

The union and the NWT government conducted an equal-pay study following the 1989 complaint, but were unable to negotiate a settlement. The Canadian Human Rights Commission investigated the issue, and then referred the complaint to the human rights tribunal. During the tribunal hearing, the government and the union continued to try to reach a settlement.

Things came to a head in July 1998 when the Union of Northern Workers launched a court action against the NWT government for trying to settle the pay-equity issue as part of the employees’ new collective agreement.

Then, this past June, both sides came to an agreement.

Joe Handley, the GNWT’s minister of public service, touted the settlement as fair and equitable.

“It respects the rights of our employees, it effectively and efficiently ends years of potential legal processes and financial uncertainty for employees, taxpayers and the government,” Handley said in a government press release.

Of the thousands of employees expected to get compensation cheques this December, many worked as secretaries, court reporters, interpreters, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians and speech therapists.