English

Pay equity for non-unionized women : a support service

Do you think you are paid less because you are a woman ?
Do you earn as much as men doing a job of equal value in your company ?

We can help you. Call us !

Free and confidential help line : 1-833-381-3955
Montreal Area : 514-381-3955

Help line hours
Tuesday 13h – 16h
Wednesday 15h – 20h
Thursday 9h – 12h

Help line information

The Help line is intended for all non-unionized employees who work in a female-dominated occupation in Quebec. If the line is occupied or you are calling outside of designated times, please leave us a message and we will call you back as soon as possible.

Our service provides information on your rights under the Pay Equity Act. We can help you understand what the Act requires from employers. If your employer has not complied, we also provide support if you want to file a complaint.

Call us, or write to info@ciaft.qc.ca  giving us your telephone number, e-mail address and the best times to contact you.

Defend your rights

Possible reasons for complaints :

• Your employer hasn’t done a pay equity exercise or hasn’t posted the results as required by law;
• The pay equity exercise done by your employer is not exempt from gender bias or does not comply with other requirements of the Act;
• The employer or pay equity committee acted in bad faith;
• You have been subjected to reprisals for exercising a right protected by the Pay Equity Act;
• You have not been paid the amounts determined by the pay equity exercise; you are entitled to these payments for time worked even if you are no longer working for the same employer.

Complaint forms

You can download the complaint form in English or you can ask the Pay Equity Commission to send you one. A French version can be filled out on line. If you need help filling out the form, call us.

Printed form is available in English

Pay equity is not the same as equal pay !

Equal pay is the same wage for the same work. If two people do the same job, they must receive the same salary for a given level of seniority.

Pay equity is a broader concept. People who work in a predominately female job category must receive the same level of wages and benefits as those who work in a predominately male job category of equal value as determined by a pay equity job evaluation plan.

Under the Quebec Pay Equity Act, all employers with at least 10 employees must do a pay equity exercise. Using a job evaluation plan, exempt from gender bias, they must determine the relative value of all job categories which are predominately female or predominately male. They must then adjust the wages and benefits of the female-dominated categories to the same level as those of the male-dominated categories of the same value. The adjustments must be paid to all the workers in the female-dominated categories over a maximum period of four years. The results of the pay equity plan must be posted in a place easily accessible to all workers.

Every five years, the employer must do an audit of its compensation policies to ensure that pay equity is maintained. The results must also be posted in an accessible place.

Pay equity, a right for all !

Help is just a phone call away !

It all seems very complicated ? You hesitate to file a complaint ?

The Support service for non-unionized women workers is there to give you information and support and to accompany you in the process of filing a complaint.

Free, confidential, help line available everywhere in Quebec.