Report/ Canada
Pay Equity… and lobsters!
Excerpt from the information kit, Closing the Pay Gap in New Brunswick’ by the New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women in Canada.
Paturel International Company (known locally for its lobsters) recently updated its pay system to ensure objective wage practices. The preparation of detailed job descriptions at the Shediac plant was the first step in a four-year program. To assess the comparable worth of different jobs, the company measured the relative requirements of the positions, by assigning points based on four internationally recognized factors: skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Wage adjustments were introduced gradually, based on the evaluation results. The mainly female workers packing seafood on the production line have seen their wages increase by 25 per cent, while the heavy labour job holders, mostly male, have received a 10 per cent pay increase. The company did it because first and foremost, it’s the right thing to do. Workforce morale has reportedly been boosted.
More information from Rosella Melanson, Executive Director, New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, www.acswcccf.nb.ca.
E-mail:rosella.melanson@gnb.ca
