VOLUME 9 NO. 4 | FEBRUARY 26, 2019 | FEMINIST ACTION
Discrimination against women in the public sector: a hard-hitting study offers proof IRIS, a Québec research institute providing socio-economic information, has conducted a study revealing that employees in public services, 72% of whom are women, earn 23% less than employees in Crown corporations like Hydro-Québec, Loto-Québec and the Société des alcools, the majority of whom are men. Omnipresent in the education, health and social services sectors and in the civil service, women are subjected to gender discrimination that the current Pay Equity Act doesn’t redress. To find out more about this unprecedented study, check out the summary available on the page web devoted to it, and the press release issued on February 14. | | PAY EQUITY
APTS is consulted on pay equity audits The APTS will present its expectations about maintaining pay equity between audits, in the context of changes to the Pay Equity Act necessitated by the federal Supreme Court ruling in May 2018. On February 26, we are invited to participate in special consultations held by the Commission on Labour and the Economy on Bill 10, which was tabled by Minister Boulet. We are speaking out in every available forum to drive home our demands. | Pay hike for community organizers The APTS won a pay hike for community organizers – the first gain we’ve made in negotiations centred on Letter of Agreement No. 29 of the APTS national provisions, regarding the implementation of salary relativity planned for April 2, 2019. The salary ranking for community organizers will be raised to 22, which was the level initially intended for this job title. One of the objectives of this letter of agreement is to evaluate gender-neutral jobs in Class 4, such as those of lawyers and community organizers. The parties are continuing to hold talks to agree on the evaluation of four other job titles. | | New salary structure: a change in the APTS salary projection tool On April 2, the salary of all employees in the education, health and social services sectors will be integrated into a new salary structure. Since 2016, a guide explaining the salary relativity process has been available on the APTS website. It includes a salary projection tool to help members gauge the impact of salary integration for each job title. Note that minor changes have recently been made to this salary projection tool. In addition, the tool includes the integration of ranking 22, which community organizers recently obtained. The pay equity and salary relativity sector is currently preparing a new issue of its periodic bulletin that will give an update on this salary integration. | | LABOUR RELATIONS
APTS opinion confirmed by Québec’s Superior Court An arbitrator recently sided with the APTS, when we contested the employer’s right to require employees to belong to a professional order in order to qualify for a position of clinical activities specialist. The employer disagreed with the arbitration decision and asked for a judicial review, which was denied. The Superior Court confirmed that the arbitrator had not erred in asserting that the employer can’t disregard the List of job titles, job descriptions and salary rates and scales, which is an integral part of the collective agreement. Requiring employees to be a member of a professional order when such a requirement is not stipulated in the List of job titles adds to the required qualifications and thereby constitutes an unacceptable departure from the List of job titles. | PROFESSIONAL GROUPS
OPTILAB: food for thought for the health minister Our intrepid medical technologist keeps posting blog entries designed to give the minister some food for thought. Her blog criticizes management decisions that fly in the face of OPTILAB’s objectives of quality and efficiency, and proposes some very interesting solutions. After blogging about how the MUHC lab cluster is managed, she presented the difficulties reported by medical technologists from extra-territorial partner labs in the Gaspé, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, the Laurentians, Lanaudière and the Bas-Saint-Laurent. Her most recent post highlights the importance of technical co-ordinators. | | OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY |
SUSTAINAIBLE DEVELOPMENT
Petition by UTTAM for the finance minister The Québec government has adopted a tax measure imposing a special tax on victims of work-related accidents or illnesses to whom the CNESST pays non-taxable allowances or compensation. These victims may be required to pay up to $2,027 in additional taxes for the 2018 fiscal year. For more information on this fiscal measure, consult the website of the Union des travailleuses et travailleurs accidentés ou malades (UTTAM). UTTAM urges us to send the finance minister a message calling for the abolition of this fiscal measure. By clicking on the link found on the web page, the message will automatically be sent in a few seconds. | | A race to change the world Équiterre is organizing a foot race that is 100% environmentally responsible and generates zero waste. This event is a perfect time to take up the challenge and train for it, or simply enjoy a fun outdoor activity with your friends, family or co-workers. The aim of the race is to raise funds for Équiterre. Last year, the organization raised $65,000 to pursue its environmental mission. The Changer le monde race will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at Mt. Royal Park in Montréal. Two options are open: the walk (1 km – 5 km) or a run (1 km – 5 km – 10 km). The 1-km route is free. If you sign up by March 15, you’ll get a $20 discount. You can register on the Équiterre website. | | SOCIAL SECURITY
Rates of return for the RREGOP fund in 2018 The RREGOP pension fund’s assets rose from $68.5 billion as at December 31, 2017 to $70.4 billion as at December 31, 2018. Participants in the RREGOP plan received a 4.2% rate of return from the pension fund in 2018. For details, visit the Retraite Québec website. | | | | |
