Thanks for the opportunity for UFCW to submit its testimony.
We represent more than 250,000 members across the country. UFCW Canada is a leading trade union in the retail, food processing, and hospitality sectors. Over 50% of UFCW Canada members are women. Close to 10,000 UFCW Canada members work in federally regulated sectors. They work in the transportation sector, at Canadian Forces bases, in credit unions, in the fishing sector, in mining, and in the milling sector, including flour, grain, and malt.
We applaud the federal government's commitment to take action to close the unacceptable wage gap between men and women, which contributes to income inequality and discriminates against women. UFCW Canada supports the forward-looking mandate of the Special Committee on Pay Equity to recognize pay equity as a right. We support the implementation of the recommendations in the 2004 pay equity task force final report, and the commitment to restore the right to pay equity in the public service, which was eliminated by the previous Conservative government in 2009. Proactive federal pay equity legislation is the starting point.
Canada's overall gender wage gap stands at roughly 30%, based upon average annual earnings using data from the most recent Canadian income survey, published by Statistics Canada in 2013. There are 8.5 million more women in the Canadian workforce than there were 20 years ago. With women's labour force participation and educational levels rising, there are still men's jobs and women's jobs, and there is still a substantial link between women's jobs and low pay. Gender-based pay inequalities are fixed in classification and pay.
As highlighted in the 2004 pay equity task force final report, racialized women, immigrant women, aboriginal women, and women with disabilities suffer from higher gender wage gaps. As fully recognized by the 2004 task force report, the gender wage gap is further intensified by the fact that women make up the majority of workers in precarious employment and in lower-paying occupations and industries. This form of employment is on the rise.
The discriminatory gender wage gap arises from occupational segregation and the prejudice and stereotypes reinforced by the labour market, which have undervalued and underpaid women and their work relative to men and their work. Today the Canadian labour market remains divided by sex across occupations in the private and public sectors. Valuing women's work; engaging in non-discriminatory labour market, workplace, and pay practices; and adopting, supporting, and funding social policies that enable and facilitate equal access to work, all build a stronger, more equitable economy.
It's important to recognize that pay equity has been fully recognized as a fundamental workplace right in Canada since 1972. In 1972, the International Labour Organization's convention 100 regarding the equal remuneration for work of equal value was ratified in Canada. Pay equity was incorporated in the Canadian Human Rights Act, but in a complaint-based system that denied effective access to pay equity for many women in the federal sector. The focus on pay equity as a priority human-rights mandate needs a gender and equity based planning, action, and monitoring lens. This is essential if there is a serious commitment to closing the gender wage gap.
The current system, as the other witnesses have already outlined, has many problems. I will skip that part in my witness report because I know it's getting a little late.
Moving forward, the federal government, working with employers and trade unions, needs to develop a systemic plan that targets closing the gender wage gap over a realistic time frame, and strategies for meeting those targets. UFCW Canada supports the Equal Pay Coalition's call to the government to close the gender pay gap no later than 2025. I believe they will be speaking soon to the committee.
We call for a proactive federal pay equity law modelled on the recommendations of the 2004 pay equity task force and the Quebec legislation with which those best align. UFCW Canada joins other trade unions and pay equity advocates in calling for the repeal of the Public Sector Equitable Compensation Act. PSECA is fundamentally flawed and cannot be improved by any amendment.
Pay equity legislation, and not collective bargaining, is the proper way to achieve pay equity. Equal pay for work of equal value is an internationally recognized human right. It must not be left to trade-offs at the bargaining table. Governments and employers are responsible for securing this. Unions have a critical role, which must be built into pay equity legislation.
Freedom from discrimination is a fundamental human right, and freedom from wage discrimination is an essential component of this right. Proactive pay equity legislation is necessary to tackle the systemic discrimination in wages as part of a larger package of policy measures. In addition to biased job classification, a pay gap factor such as occupational segregation, precarious employment, and uneven distribution of unpaid labour must be addressed. Employment equity, universal child care, strong public services, decent work, living wages, and free collective bargaining are other measures required to achieve full wage equity.
As an immediate step, this committee has the opportunity to advance a proactive pay equity law as envisioned by the 2004 task force. The federal government should seize the moment to redress gender pay discrimination for workers under federal legislation and show leadership within Canada and internationally as well.
UFCW Canada is calling on the federal and provincial governments to implement additional recommendations—and I'm just going to list them because they are in front of you.
Make closing the gender wage gap a human rights priority. Enforce and expand pay equity. Promote access to collective bargaining. Require reliable scheduling practices and better notice periods. Legislate a living wage. Legislate equity compliance for workplace and business. Legislate paternity leave and provide high-quality and universal child care.
Thank you so much for this opportunity to be a witness here.