Some hopeful for pay transparency after new legislation begins in B.C.
Posted November 3, 2023 5:14 pm.
Last Updated November 4, 2023 11:09 am.
There’s renewed hope here in Manitoba for legislating pay transparency as British Columbia sees protections around the topic come into effect.
British Columbia passed its Pay Transparency Act on May 11 which adds protections against actions such as employers asking job applicants about their pay history.
The requirement for employers in B.C. to publish pay ranges on public job postings came into effect on Nov. 1.
READ MORE: B.C.’s pay transparency legislation begins Wednesday
“The gender pay gap is this pervasive problem that has just gone on for as long as people have been receiving wages, since the 19th century. It’s a step to reducing or eliminating the pay gap, because if you make the pay that is actually offered for the job visible to people, they know what they are getting into and other people can say, ‘Actually that’s not what I’m getting,’” said Julie Guard, labour studies professor at the University of Manitoba.
Current Minister of Labour and Immigration Malaya Marcelino introduced The Pay Transparency Act twice when the NDP was in opposition, but both times the bills were defeated.
Minister of Labour and Immigration Malaya Marcelino says while she knows the issue is important to Manitobans, the government at this time is focused on healthcare.
“Our government was given the mandate to fix the healthcare staffing shortage and make life more affordable. At this present time, we just got into the doors, all my work right now is fully centred on trying to address that healthcare staffing shortage,” said Minister Marcelino.
The legislation Marcelino introduced while the NDP was in opposition is similar to B.C.’s Pay Transparency Act.
Manitoba’s proposed legislation aimed to require employers to publicly publish pay information prohibited employers from asking about an employee’s pay history and required employers to file a pay audit.
While the introduction of the legislation was seen as a step in the right direction, some say it was not strong enough.
“We need much more substantive efforts in enforcement, oversight. The legislation proposed when it was a private member’s bill only applied to workplaces with 100 and up employees. Most businesses, 80 per cent of them, have between 0 and 100 employees,” said Molly McCracken, Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – Manitoba office.
“Manitoba was once first a leader in pay equity legislation. We were the first province to have it in 1985 but nothing has really happened in 35 years here in Manitoba.”
Minister Marcelino says she has looked at B.C.’s pay transparency laws and says if the government does plan on bringing in similar legislation, they would also look at other jurisdictions to learn how they could implement similar legislation in this province.
“You want to make sure you get it right, you want to make sure, that any legislation that you are going to table has gone through a process of consultation with those that are affected,” said Marcelino.
Guard added, “It’s not just women, it’s Indigenous people, it’s disabled people, transgender people, there’s a whole range of people who are paid less for the work that they do than others. I think it’s very important to see the government of B.C. taking steps to do something about this and I certainly hope the Manitoba NDP follow suit.”
