PSAC-Quebec firmly condemns Centre hospitalier universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine for dragging its feet in the pay equity dispute with its research centre employees. Even after over a decade of union efforts and notwithstanding several unambiguous court rulings, the employer hasn’t budged on its position as reported yesterday in La Presse (French only).
PSAC‑Quebec has been representing CHU Sainte-Justine’s research centre workers—who were unfairly excluded from the broader Treasury Board pay equity plan—since 2013. A separate plan retroactive to December 18, 2008 was supposed to be implemented for these workers following an agreement concluded in 2016 and ratified by the Administrative Labour Tribunal (ALT) in 2021.
However, there has been no real headway since the pay equity committee was formed in 2016. The employer has stubbornly blocked any progress on job class identification, which is the first step in the process. Though there is currently no pay scale, and though the CNESST explicitly supports the union’s position, CHU Sainte-Justine continues to insist on grouping jobs with different pay rates under the same class, which runs directly counter to section 54 of the Pay Equity Act.
“Refusing to uphold basic pay equity principles when most of your employees are women is simply preposterous,” said Sébastien Paquette, Executive Vice-President for PSAC-Quebec. “By continuing to deny their right to fair pay, CHU Sainte-Justine sustains systemic discrimination against its female research employees.”
PSAC‑Quebec had to officially declare impasse in December 2023 and has taken steps with the CNESST and ALT to compel the employer’s compliance with the law. PSAC‑Quebec demands that CHU Sainte-Justine stop obstructing the pay equity process, work in good faith with the union, and promptly adopt a fair and comprehensive plan for its research centre workers.
Enough is enough. Equity is non-negotiable.