CAUT | ACPPU
Canadian Association of University Teachers
Services
Model Clause on Pay Equity¹
The parties are committed to pay2 equity for all academic staff members in marginalized groups.3 To that end the parties agree as follows:
1
To undertake forthwith a pay equity study and to implement the results determined and/or recommended by a pay equity committee before the expiration of this agreement.
2
The study shall be conducted by a pay equity committee which shall be composed of a minimum of eight individuals, with an equal number of employee and employer representatives, and with representation as broad as possible to enable participation by the greatest number of marginalized group members.
3
The employer shall provide adequate resources to the pay equity committee to enable them to retain independent experts to provide them with training and advice in pay equity methodologies.
4
The employer shall pay all expenses of the pay equity committee, the academic staff association and all employees involved in the study, administrative and expert consultancy costs, as well as training of committee members in pay equity methodologies, etc. by an independent expert in human rights/pay equity. The pay equity committee will determine selection of the independent expert.
5
The employer shall reduce workload obligations for employees involved in the work of the pay equity committee and/or the pay equity study.
6
The employer and all employees shall co-operate fully by provision of any necessary information to the committee.
7
The employer and the academic staff association members participating in the work of the pay equity committee who receive employment information necessary for the work of the study, shall respect privacy obligations whether they be set out in legislation, this agreement or form an official employment policy of the University.
8
The process, scope and time frames for the pay equity study, as well as frequency of future pay equity studies, will be determined by the pay equity committee. Without restricting the power or scope of the pay equity committee’s work, the said committee shall:
i) Determine the pay adjustments to individual faculty or groups of faculty as an outcome of the study;
ii) Determine any retroactive adjustments, including pension adjustments;
iii) Make recommendations for revision of practices and procedures that have the potential to, or in fact do, adversely affect any marginalized group member in pay or other employment opportunities.
9
Proposed methodologies for the study and adjustments shall be reviewed by a consulting expert as per para.3 herein.
10
Failing agreement by the pay equity committee on study scope, process or remedial outcomes, the employer shall forthwith retain (and cover all expenses for) an arbitrator external to the university, with experience in labour law, pay equity and/or human rights. The selection of the independent arbitrator shall be a joint determination of the academic staff association and the employer.
11
The arbitrator shall have the powers to determine any dispute between the parties concerning the study scope or process, or any remedial outcome including but not limited to
i) adjusting pay scales or rates for individuals or groups of individuals (prospectively or retroactively);
ii) adjusting pension contributions and pension entitlements;
iii) making any other order necessary to meet the mutual commitment of the parties to achieve pay equity.
unless such adjustment or order requires an amendment to the collective agreement, in which case paragraph 14 herein applies;
12
The employer shall provide the pay equity committee with comprehensive pay and benefits data for the purposes of the study and for ongoing maintenance of pay equity.
13
The employer shall not hold the academic staff association liable for any portion of the pay adjustment or other remedies (or damages) identified by the pay equity study.
14
To the extent the pay equity study results in determinations by the pay equity committee or the arbitrator that pay, pension or other adjustments in practices or policies are necessary and that such adjustments require an amendment to the collective agreement, the parties shall meet forthwith and establish a process for negotiating the amendments. To the extent that adjustments to pay or other practices or policies do not require amendments to the collective agreement, the employer shall implement the changes as determined by the pay equity committee.
15
No member’s salary or benefits shall be reduced as a result of the pay equity study.
Approved by the CAUT Council, November 2005;
editorial revisons, May 2010.
1. Pay Equity in this clause is a broader term than that used in provincial Pay Equity legislation. The latter is restricted to pay equity for women in relation to their male counterparts, and as well, it is aimed at the comparison of equal pay for work of equal value. This model clause is more expansive in its purpose and goals, permitting the remediation of inequity in pay for other marginalized groups, and enabling the comparison of pay between employees within the same job class / occupational group. Under Pay Equity legislation faculty would ordinarily be treated as being in one job class or group and consequently no comparison of wages for male and female faculty within the group or class would be permitted.
2. Pay refers to total compensation, e.g. including pension and benefits.
3.“Marginalized groups” connotes a broader representation than the four “designated groups” found in the Federal Employment Equity Act. The parties shall determine the categories of “marginalized groups” for the purpose of the collective agreement and this clause.
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