PSAC Pay Equity

March 7, 2006

Pay equity claim against separate employers moves to another stage

PSAC has been advised that a pre-trial conference of the parties involved in our pay equity claim against separate employers is scheduled to be held in Ottawa on June 7, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The purpose of the conference is to schedule and expedite the conduct of the trial in the Federal Court (Trial Division). The parties will be asked to address questions that touch on the possibility of settlement, damages and liability, as well as practical issues such as suitable dates for the trial and the need for simultaneous interpretation.

By May 29, the parties will have to provide the court with information on a number of other issues including a short statement of their questions to be raised at the trial, the number of their witnesses and the subject matter of their testimony, the estimated time for the witnesses to provide their evidence and the duration of opening remarks and closing submissions.

The pre-trial conference follows the completion of the Discovery phase which took much longer than originally anticipated.

The Statement of Claim was filed in November 2000 on behalf of current and former PSAC members working for a number of separate employers. The case has been repeatedly delayed due to government tactics, including a series of unsuccessful legal challenges to have the case dismissed. The separate employers included in the complaint and the Statement of Claim, under Part II of the PSSRA, are:

• the Auditor General,
• the Canadian Security Intelligence Service,
• the Communications Security Establishment,
• the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council,
• the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions,
• Statistical Survey Operations, and
• the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
  (formerly the Medical Research Council).

The union will continue to provide updates on the progress of this case as developments occur and once a trial date is set.