Bargaining agents' role

What role do bargaining agents play in developing pay equity plans?

Bargaining agents play an important role in the pay equity process. Bargaining agents who represent employees in a federal workplace covered by the Pay Equity Act have a seat on the pay equity committee. They work alongside the employer to create a pay equity plan and identify any differences in compensation between jobs that are commonly held by women and those commonly held by men.  

Bargaining agents: 

• select a representative to sit on the workplace’s pay equity committee; 
• contribute to the development of pay equity plans as part of the pay equity committee work; 
• provide all the relevant information they have (such as job information) to help the committee complete the pay equity plan;  
• monitor the activities of the committee during the entire pay equity process; and, 
• provide input and direction to their representative on the issues brought up at the committee. 

What is the impact of the pay equity plan on collective bargaining? 

The pay equity process in federally-regulated workplaces is entirely separate from collective bargaining. However, because pay equity deals with employee compensation, it could affect collective agreements. 

Once a pay equity plan is fully established, any pay equity increase must be incorporated into, and form part of, the collective agreements.