PSAC is incredibly disappointed that Treasury Board is attempting to delay pay equity justice for workers in the federal public service by requesting a three-year extension to post their final equity plan for the federal public service. 

The government has confirmed they will miss their initial deadline of September 3, 2024 – postponing the plan to at least 2027. 

Under the Pay Equity Act (the Act), federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees – in both the public and private sector – were given three years to establish a pay equity plan to identify and remedy gender-based discrimination in their compensation systems and practices.  The federal government is one of these employers – and as Canada’s largest employer, should be setting an example for other employers across the country, particularly in light of their self-proclaimed feminist principles. 

In Canada, where women earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by men for work of equal value, and where Indigenous women, racialized women, and women with disabilities earn even less, pay equity is a crucial step in advancing gender equality.  We are appalled that the government wants its workers to wait at least another three years to move pay equity forward for federal public service workers. It's been decades since PSAC and other federal unions began this fight; this delay is yet another example of this government’s ongoing lack of respect for its workers.  

Since the passing of the Pay Equity Act in 2021, Treasury Board has dragged its feet and used most of the past three years to undermine the intent of the law by applying for three separate pay equity plans – which PSAC strongly opposed – divided between occupational groups represented by each federal union.  

Next steps 

Although PSAC is part of the Pay Equity Committee – which brings together bargaining agents and employers – the decision to seek an extension comes solely from the employer. We strongly oppose the Treasury Board’s request for a three-year extension, and we have filed representations at the Pay Equity Commission to protect our members’ interests. 

Even if the extension is granted, any pay equity adjustments owed will be retroactive to September 4, 2024, and members will not be unfairly penalized.  

Pay equity needs to be a priority for the federal government, and PSAC will continue to pressure them to respect the Pay Equity Act and work to close the gender wage gap in Canada and the federal public service.  The government must also properly fund the Pay Equity Commission to ensure all employers across the country covered by the Act fulfill their obligations to address pay equity in their workplaces. 

We will share additional updates when they become available, and if you have any questions about the implementation of pay equity, you can email us at payequity-equitesalariale@psac-afpc.com.