Two years is too long for equal pay legislation says UFCW Canada leader

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 6, 2016) - Canada's leading private-sector union is, "disappointed that the federal government is insisting women wait two more years for basic equality," says Paul Meinema, the national president of UFCW Canada (United Food and Commercial Workers union).

On Wednesday, the federal government announced that women will have to wait until 2018 for pay equity legislation for federally regulated workplaces to be tabled in Parliament.

"Although the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Status of Women, has stated that, 'having a gender wage gap in Canada in 2016 is unacceptable,' the government's announcement that pay equity legislation will not be tabled until 2018 states the opposite," says Meinema.

"The government's postponement of pay equity legislation means that working women will have to wait even longer for equal pay," says the UFCW Canada leader. "Pay equity is a basic human right. Equity delayed is equity denied, so we the call on the federal government to act swiftly to introduce proactive pay equity legislation before the end of 2016."

UFCW Canada's new campaign Closing the Gap calls on the federal and provincial governments to commit to closing the gender wage gap as an urgent human rights priority. Add your voice and send a message to make equal pay for equal work a reality for all working women at www.ufcw.ca/closingthegap.

UFCW Canada is Canada's leading and most progressive private-sector union, representing more than a quarter of a million workers in Canada's fastest growing industries. UFCW Canada is the country's most innovative organization dedicated to building fairness in workplaces and communities. To find out more about UFCW Canada and its innovative work, please visit www.ufcw.ca.