Quebec public sector unions demonstrated outside the Treasury Board offices in Montreal on Saturday. They criticize the government for not having yet ordered the solution to the salary equity demands presented in 2010 on behalf of thousands of office employees and the administration of the health and social services network.
Despite a petition presented in this regard to the National Assembly last May and the mobilizations organized throughout the province during the last year
The Government continues to turn a deaf ear to this issue that has been going on for too long, say representatives of three unions.
We shouldn’t be here today. The thousands of women who are on the streets today should be with their families, because the government, 12 years ago, should have resolved the issue of pay equity.
denounces Sylvie Nelson, president of the Quebec Service Employees Union.
Women are tired, they want to be heard and we will not give up. Mr. Legault should be ashamed to see us on the street to resolve a file that dates back 12 years.
30,000 people waiting
According to unions, nearly 30,000 people are still waiting to have their complaints resolved under the Pay Equity Act, an amount that could range, in some cases, from a few thousand to several tens of thousands of dollars.
Thousands of dollars that most women do not have access to because the Treasury Board, the government and François Legault drag their feet on this issue.
underlines Samuel Sicard, vice president of administrative personnel of the Provincial Council of Social Affairs.
The vast majority of affected workers (administrative agents, management assistants and university professors, buyers, as well as medical and legal secretaries, among others) are women, including several single mothers.
These are women who work for the public sector. These are the same women who also supported the network remotely. So I think, out of respect for these women, we need to resolve this issue quickly – it has gone on long enough.
Mrs. Nelson points out.
Many of these women are in a precarious financial situation and we have been waiting for an agreement since 2010.
recalls Carole Duperré, representative of office staff and administration.
We know that the current economic situation is difficult with inflation. So it’s money, a lot of money, that people, including these women, need to catch their breath financially.
Mrs. Nelson hopes that the government understands common sense and reaches an agreement with women
.
I think if we could pay MPs salaries of $30,000 a year, I can’t believe we couldn’t find money to pay the women of Quebec.
is dropped.
