Legislating equity: A comparison of provincial legislation in manitoba and ontario requiring pay equity

References

• The two acts are each quite complex and differ in a great many ways. This paper will note only certain of these differences. One of the major differences which will not be discussed, for instance, is that the Ontario legislation applies to the private sector as well as the public, while the Manitoba act has not specifically been so extended. Discussion will concentrate on the sections which apply to the public sector in each act
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• The two acts are results of differing social forces. Manitoba, for instance, was enacted under an administration more to the left than the government of Ontario. An issue only touched on is the differing requirements for union involvement. Certainly differential bargaining strength is implicated in the outcome of this particular legislation as well as deviation from the established hierarchy in the coming years
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• The present discussion will focus on some immediate consequences of each act. The acts could be compared (and ought to be), as well, on such dimensions as overall economic implications of pay equity on the provinces
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• The sources for the discussion are:
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• “ Bill 154 (Chapter 34, Statutes of Ontario, 1987): An Act to Provide for Pay Equity ” . printed under authority of the Legislative Assembly by the Queen's Printer for Ontario .
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• “ Chapter P13: The Pay Equity Act ” . printed by the Queen's Printer for the Province of Manitoba . (consolidation)
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• See discussions in Remick . 1984 . Comparable Worth and Wage Discriminations: Technical Possibilities and Political Realities , Philadelphia : Temple University Press . Treiman and Hartmann, Women Work, and Wages, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1981
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• For instance, the Hay Guide Charts developed for Idaho (obtained from the International Personnel Management Association) give managerial know-how 2,432 possible points and working conditions 64 possible points. Such distributions are typical of Hay Charts developed for other clients. Hallcrest-Craver developed a system for use in Montgomery County, Maryland, which assigns 1400 out of 4,050 points to “Knowledge Required” and 380 to “Physical Effort”, “Working Environment”, and “Hazards” combined. (See “An Empirical Investigation of the Similarity of the Measurement Properties of the QES Across Dominant Sex Type of Classes for Montgomery County, Maryland”, June 13, 1986, Hallcrest-Craver Associates,Inc.)
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• The same Hay Guide Charts also measure “Accountability” only in terms of responsibility for budgets, measured by dollars
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• “ Chapter P13 ” . 15 Bill 154, page 16
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• Steinberg , R. and Haignere , L. 1987 . “ Equitable Compensation: Methodological Criteria for Comparable Worth ” . In Ingredients for Women's Employment Policy , Edited by: C. , Bose and G. , Spitze . Albany, NY : State University of New York Press .
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• Steinberg , R. , Haignere , L. , Possin , C. , Treiman , D. and Chertos , C. 1985 . “ The New York State Comparable Worth Study Final Report ” . Albany, NY : published by the New York State Governor's Office of Employee Relations and Civil Service Employees Association . For information on the development of the Washington criterion and the New York criterionInc
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• “ Chapter P13 ” . 7
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• “ Bill 154 ” . 4 – 8 . page 30
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• “ Chapter P13 ” . 15
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• Remick , Helen . 1984 . Comparable Worth and Wage Discrimination: Technical Possibilities and Political Realities , Philadelphia, PA : Temple University Press .
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• “ Bill 154 ” . 14 (4) (a) (b)
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• 1976 . The Report of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada states, “17 per cent of all women workers, belong to unions. Of these women, 39.6 per cent were in the 25 labour organizations in which women members formed the majority.” The Ontario Nurses’ Association, with overwhelmingly female membership, has had serious difficulties in locating appropriate male comparators in order to comply with the Ontario legislation. (Personal communication, 1988-1989
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• “ Chapter P13 ” . 7
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• “ Chapter P13 ” . 13
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• “ Bill 154 ” . 12 – 14 .
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• “ Bill 154 ” . 28
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