As the parties agreed in MOA 9 in the 2019 to 2022 collective agreement, the following joint proposal was sent to the Deputy Attorney General from the BCFMA and BCGEU:

"April 21, 2022

Shannon Salter
Deputy Attorney General
PO Box 9290 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9J7

Dear Ms. Salter,

The BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA) and the B.C. General Employees' Union (BCGEU) have identified a gender-based pay gap in wages for work performed by BCFMA employees compared with work of the same value performed by direct public service employees.

This gap is inconsistent with government's stated principles; addressing it presents an opportunity to close the gender pay gap which is a commitment of government.

With a workforce consisting of approximately 85 percent women serving recipient clients who are approximately 95 percent women, the BCFMA has an elevated imperative to see this gender-based pay gap eliminated. This represents a significant recipient client base of women with families supported by women with families who are part of the BCGEU.

Progress on gender equity was prioritized in Premier Horgan's most recent mandate letter to the Ministry: "Our government has a moral and ethical responsibility to tackle systemic discrimination in all its forms – and every ministry has a role in this work. While our caucus elected a record number of women, more work remains to address gender equity." [1]

Also prioritized by government for the BCFMA: "All Crowns are expected to adopt the Gender-Bases Analysis Plus (GBA+) lens to ensure equity is reflected in your operations and programs." [2]

And adopted as an Agency objective: "BCFMA continues to develop and improve the social and multicultural aspects of our business by addressing the BC government's foundational principles, including a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion through Gender-Based Analysis +…" [3]

Consistent with all of the above, the BCFMA and the BCGEU have agreed that they:

• subscribe to the principles of pay equity, including without limitation gender-based pay equity,
• recognize that wage rates are a concern for staff when compared with wage rates for work performed under the Main Public Service Agreement and the Public Service Job Evaluation Plan (PSJEP), and
• would discuss wage comparability and develop a joint proposal for government consideration. [4]

To this end, the Agency contracted a jointly agreed upon specialist to evaluate each classification at the BCFMA using the PSJEP.

On the matter of pay equity with persons performing comparable work under the Main Public Service Agreement, the results (attached) show that to varying degrees, all BCFMA classifications are lower in terms of hourly wages.

The BCFMA and the BCGEU jointly request that government review the results of the classification evaluation, in the context of employees' total compensation, and mandate and resource the BCFMA to address this gender-based pay gap in upcoming negotiations to renew the collective agreement. Closing the gender pay gay at the BCFMA, with its workforce of around 85 percent women serving a recipient client base of around 95 percent women, provides a clear opportunity for government to advance the elimination of systemic discrimination while delivering a high-quality public service. This is supported by the Province of BC's recent announcement to begin consultations on new pay transparency legislation to close the gender pay gap. [5]

Sincerely,

Ryan Stewart Joanne Hanson

Staff Representative, Negotiations Chief Executive Officer

B.C. General Employees' Union BC Family Maintenance Agency

Notes:

[1] November 26, 2020 Mandate Letter to Attorney General Eby from Premier Horgan
[2] April 20, 2021 Mandate Letter to then ADM Richard Fyfe from Attorney General Eby
[3] BC Family Maintenance Agency 2022/23 – 2024/25 Service Plan, February 2022
[4] 2019 – 2022 Collective Agreement between the BCFMA and the BCGEU
[5] March 8, 2022 BC Government News – Finance"

The attachment to the letter showed that classifications at BCFMA, when assessed using the PSJEP, would fall at the following grid levels under the Main Public Service Agreement:

As stated in a previous bulletin to members, the impact of this joint proposal on wages at BCFMA, if any, will not be known until the parties meet in bargaining later this year. In other words, the parties have given government the information that objectively establishes the pay inequity-it is now up to government to consider this information and determine how it might influence the next bargaining mandate and potential related funding for BCFMA.

In solidarity,

Ryan Stewart
Staff Representative, Negotiations

Download PDF of notice here

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