After months of collaborative efforts to achieve pay equity at CCC, progress has stalled because of the employer’s contradictory and misleading stance on union membership.
Specifically, CCC is arguing that several employees at CCC are eligible for union membership but are not union members. These “eligible but not unionized” employees, according to CCC, should have their own separate representation (with voting rights) on the Pay Equity Committee.
This is a major problem, as every employee who is eligible to be part of a union at CCC must be a member of PIPSC, as confirmed in our bargaining certificate. This is a clear, legal requirement. They must therefore be represented by PIPSC – not a separate entity –– on the Pay Equity Committee. CCC knows this and has agreed with this premise many times, including in recent discussions. Yet, when it comes to pay equity, they are now taking the opposite position in an attempt to introduce a separate voting bloc, undermine the union vote and give themselves a pathway to control this committee.
Most recently, CCC officials have threatened to introduce a unilateral pay equity plan, written without union involvement. This is a clear violation of the law caused by their repeated refusal to respect the plain-language provisions of the act.
CCC’s legal advisors, some of whom have recently agreed to reinforce the PIPSC bargaining certificate, have expressed confusion and frustration over CCC’s contradictory position. Despite bilateral meetings with CCC’s most senior leadership, it’s clear that CCC is aware of the inconsistency in its actions but is choosing to fight us at the Pay Equity Commission anyway.
These moves by CCC are contradictory and highly disruptive. They violate the legal structure established by our bargaining certificate, and directly impede our ability to make progress on pay equity. Until this issue is resolved, we do not see a pathway to forward with the work, as you cannot have valid votes when some voters are ineligible to vote.
PIPSC is committed to ensuring equal pay for all employees, and that proper process and legal requirements are followed. We are actively pursuing legal action and have filed complaints against the employer for its refusal to engage in good faith.
We urge our members to stay informed and continue to raise their concerns with CCC management. For further updates, check back to our website or contact the PIPSC Pay Equity Team at payequity@pipsc.ca.