In it you can share your success stories from CUPEs campaign to raise womens wages. If youve got a story to tell, contact the Equality Branch in Ottawa. Here are some of our stories!
Equal pay for work of equal value now in BC Human Rights Code
Years of persistence at the bargaining table and in the streets fighting for pay equity have finally paid off. And, it was CUPE BC, its womens and pay equity committees, mem-bers, staff and CUPEs BC Health Services Division that did it.
All employees in the province are now covered by equal pay for work of equal value legislation under the provinces Human Rights Code.
Complaints may be laid with the HR commission if there is evidence that an employer is wage discriminating on the basis of sex. The Act, which comes into force on June 1 of next year, means men and women must be paid the same rate of pay for work of equal value.
With the election of Gordon Campbells Liberals, there is real fear that the legislated changes made by the NDP government could get overturned. But, CUPE BC has warned the new government to keep its hands off the new pay equity law. After years of struggle, BC workers are not going to let their victory be taken away.
Employer watch saves pay equity
By keeping a close watch on the employer, CUPE Local 38 saved its pay equity agreement.
The City of Calgary administration was saying that the remaining wage gap in its
$7 million pay equity commitment to the local was statistically insignificant and suggested that payments be stopped.
But, Local 38 President Peter Marsden, Recording Secretary Alanna Brown and Barb Ames, chair of the Equal Opportunities com-mittee responded with a presentation to the Citys finance and budget committee. They warned the Calgary administrators that human rights complaints would be laid if the City didnt continue with the agreed upon pay equity plan.
Once you have identified discrimi-nation, you have to address it, Marsden told the committee.
Calgarys City Council agreed to con-tinue the payments and meet the pay equity obligations to Local 38s members.
Victory for N.B. court stenos
It took 19 weeks, the longest strike in New Brunswicks history, but it finally paid off for CUPE Local 1840 members.
The provinces court stenographers have been awarded a wage increase of 15.2 to 17.2 per cent over four years in an arbitration ruling. The settlement goes beyond the 1.5 per cent pattern set by the provincial government.
We are satisfied, said Anne-Marie Ct002c a member of the locals bargaining com-mittee. This is a step in the right direction.
Ct0020said the ruling is an important victory for the stenos. The arbitrator said the workers were underpaid by standards within the province and elsewhere in the Maritimes.
The court stenographers stood up for justice, added provincial coordinator Bob Hicks. They won this battle. In the next round of bargaining we are ready to achieve real wage parity.
Giant book launch demo empowers library workers to better wage deal,?
Thirty-seven library workers, members of CUPE Local 1788, have a new contract with a better wage deal thanks to the public pressure they put on their employer by staging a giant book launch.
The members dressed up as people-sized books and paraded in front of their workplace, John M. Cuelenaere Library in Regina, to publicize their need for better wages.
The PR campaign certainly empowered the Local and made the employer realize that zero per cent for 2000 was just not an option this time, said staff rep Paulette Caron.
The new contract follows the provincial guidelines of 3, 3 and 3 per cent retroactive to January 1 of this year and it also slashes one increment step in each of the classifications. The increment step adjustments mean larger gains for women at lower wage rates. All but one of the Local 1788 members are women.
Canada 3000 flight attendants choose CUPE
Nearly 900 flight attendants, the majority of them women, have chosen to unionize with the Airline Division of CUPE.
We are very happy that the flight attendants at Canada 3000 have chosen CUPE to be their union. With all the changes in the airline industry, now more than ever flight attendants want a strong voice in the work-place, said Frano0069s Bellemare, President of the Airline Division.
With more than 10,000 members, the Division represents the majority of flight attendants in Canada.
Eighty flight attendants at Canjet, also new to CUPE, are presently negotiating their first collective agreement. A new contract at Royal raised wages for the 450 CUPE members who work as flight attendants for that airline.
Organizing non-unionized women work-ers is a priority of the Up with Womens Wages campaign as Statistics Canada studies show that unionization helps close the wage gap for women.
The Airline Division has filed a complaint with the federal Human Rights Commission seeking pay equity for flight attendants.
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