Rights to Equal Pay in the Northwest Territories
A) History
Before 2004, different laws in the Northwest Territories protected the rights to equal pay.
Section 6 of the Fair Practices Act contained the right to equal pay for similar or substantially similar work. It prohibited all employers in the Northwest Territories from paying a female employee less than a male employee if the work each employee did was similar or substantially similar.
Section 11 of the Canadian Human Rights Act applied to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). It prohibited the GNWT from “establishing or maintaining differences in wages between male and female employees employed in the same establishment who perform work of equal value.”
In 1989, the Union of Northern Workers, representing employees of the GNWT made a complaint under s. 11 against the GNWT. That complaint was settled in 2002. As part of the settlement, the GNWT adopted a new system for determining the value of work performed by all of its jobs and a universal pay plan under which the pay an employee receives for his or her job is based on the value of the job.
Sections 7 and 10 of the Canadian Human Rights Act also applied to the GNWT and prohibited all discrimination in employment. This would also prevent discriminating between men and women by paying them differently for substantially similar work.
On July 1, 2004, the Northwest Territories assumed jurisdiction over the area of human rights. The Fair Practices Act was repealed, and the Canadian Human Rights Act ceased to apply to the GNWT. In their place, the Northwest Territories Human Rights Act came into force, as did the “equal pay” section of the Public Service Act.
B) The Two Rights to Equal Pay
1) The Right to Equal Pay for the Same or Substantially Similar Work
Section 9 of the Human Rights Act protects the right to equal pay for the same or substantially similar work. It prohibits all employers in the Northwest Territories, including the GNWT, from paying different rates of pay to employees who are performing the same or substantially similar work for their employer. This right to equal pay does not only compare men with women. Employers may not pay employees differently for the same or similar work on any of the 20 prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in the Human Rights Act.
The Human Rights Act says that people who perform the same or substantially similar work for their employer cannot be paid differently because of their race, colour, ancestry, nationality, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family status, family affiliation, political belief, political association, social condition or conviction for which a pardon has been granted.
Under this right, “pay” includes everything an employee receives for performing his or her job: wages, pensions, benefits, bonuses, allowances, housing, clothing, and so on.
If you are concerned that you are not being paid equally by your employer for work that is the same or substantially similar to the work of another employee because of any one of these characteristics, you can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.
You can contact the Human Rights Commission by clicking on the Links page.
2) The Right to Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value
Section 40 of the Public Service Act creates the right to equal pay for work of equal value. It prohibits the three public sector employers in the Northwest Territories from establishing or maintaining differences in the rate of pay between their male and female employees who perform work of equal value. This means that these employers cannot pay women (or men) less than men (or women) who perform dissimilar work, if that work is of equal value to the employer. Section 40 also explains how to determine the value of dissimilar work.
Under this right, “pay” includes everything an employee receives for performing his or her job: wages, pensions, benefits, bonuses, allowances, housing, clothing, and so on.
If you work for the GNWT, for the NWT Power Corporation or you are a teacher, the right to equal pay for work of equal value applies to you. If you are concerned that you are not being paid equally for your work compared to persons of the opposite sex who do other work that you believe is equal in value to your work, you can make a complaint to the Equal Pay Commissioner.
You can find out more about how to make an equal pay for work of equal value complaint by clicking on the “Making a Complaint” page or you can contact the Equal Pay Commissioner.
3) Comparing the Two Rights to Equal Pay
Here is a chart showing the differences between the two rights to equal pay:
| Equal Pay for the Same or Substantially Similar Work | Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value | |
|---|---|---|
| To Whom the Right Applies | Every employee in the Northwest Territories | Employees of the GNWT (who are not teachers), employees of the NWT Power Corporation, and teachers |
| How the Work is Compared | Must be the same or substantially similar work | Must be dissimilar work that is equal in value |
| Who is Compared | Any two or more employees working for the same employer | Men and women, or persons performing male work and persons performing female work for the same employer |
| Grounds for Comparison | Any of the 20 grounds listed in the Human Rights Act | Sex |
| Where to Make a Complaint | To the Human Rights Commission | To the Equal Pay Commissioner |
