The Equal Pay Coalition was formed in 1976 as a coalition of organizations to seek the implementation of equal pay for work of equal value both through legislation and collective bargaining. The Coalition has over 39 constituent and partner groups which represent Ontario women and men who support equal pay for work of equal value . See About Us for more information.

Support, Strengthen and Revitalize Pay Equity

The Equal Pay Coalition is calling upon the Ontario government to take action to ensure pay equity is achieved and maintained in the province. This requires taking a number of different steps to address the problem that many Ontario women in all the different sectors of the economy still earn pay which is less because they do "women's work."

The Ontario government must fully fund the Pay Equity Commission so that the Pay Equity Act can be vigilantly enforced.

The Pay Equity Commission is composed of the Pay Equity Office and the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal. The Coalition is calling for the Commission's funding to be restored to $6.8 million, the highest level in 1992-93, plus the necessary funding that is required to ensure vigorous enforcement and closing of the pay equity gap.

The Pay Equity Office and the Tribunal have had their funding and staff substantially stripped since the mid-1990's. The Commission has been unable to effectively carry out its extensive enforcement, educational and research duties.
Ontario's Pay Equity Act is responsible for enforcement of the Act. It investigates, mediates and makes the first level decision in complaints. The Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal adjudicates disputes that arise from those first level decisions. Administrative support for the Tribunal is currently provided by the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

Given widespread non-compliance with the Act, the Coalition is calling on the Office to exercise its pro-active powers contained in section 33(1) of the Act to conduct public education programs; do research, produce papers, provide information and make recommendations to the Minister on enforcement and related matters. There is a great need to ensure that both employers and employees understand their rights and their responsibilities under the Act. Innovative measures all need to be studied and implemented to ensure pay equity is achieved for vulnerable workers, including those disadvantaged by their race, immigrant or Aboriginal status, disability, poverty or lack of union representation.

Here are a few background facts: *


Pay Equity Commission

The Pay Equity Commission, historically, is under-funded and under-resourced.

In 1992-3, under the New Democratic Party government, the Commission and Tribunal employed 86 people. 28 Review Officers assisted with the proactive enforcement of the Act.

The budget was merely $6.8 million dollars.

By 1997 the budget had been slashed by 46% . Appointments to the Tribunal were cut. 13 Review Officer positions were eliminated. The publicly-funded Pay Equity Legal Clinic, which assisted low-income, non-unionized women to enforce their rights, was eliminated.

Between 2003 to 2006, the Liberal government reduced the budget of the Commission, including the Tribunal, by another 20%.

In 2006, there are only 32 employees at the Commission. There are only 16 Review Officers to cover the entire province. There are no regional offices. There is no library service. There is new research or analysis to update the picture of province-wide systemic pay discrimination. There are no educational officers to assist the public or civil service. There is no legal clinic to assist low-income, non-unionized women enforce their rights.

In the fall of 2006, the Pay Equity Commissioner stated, at the Ontario Federation of Labour Pay Equity conference, that the private sector is largely not compliant with their obligations to end pay discrimination; that there are many outstanding enforcement issues in public sector workplaces; and the Commission is working with fewer and limited resources to enforce the Pay Equity Act.


Pay Equity Legal Resources

In the early 1990's, the Ontario Government funded a Pay Equity Legal Clinic to help particularly non-unionized women with legal representation for bringing complaints. This funding was eliminated with the 1995 Government funding cuts. Since then, women have not had any assistance bringing complaints to the Commission. The Coalition is calling for this funding to be restored and increased to address the widespread need for legal assistance.

* Note: all statistics from Pay Equity Commission Annual Reports 1990-2006 inclusive.