NEW CLASSIFICATION PLAN FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES ENSURES EQUITY

Released on June 30, 1998

Saskatchewan government employees have ratified a new classification

plan designed to achieve pay equity and internal equity.



"The new classification plan is a fair and fiscally responsible

approach to ensuring equity for government employees," said Lorne

Calvert, minister responsible for the Public Service Commission. "It

addresses historical inequities, such as the undervaluing of

female-dominated jobs.



"The existing classification plan is 50 years old and does not reflect

today's realities. The new plan is designed to be responsive to

changes in the nature of work and the emergence of new types of work.

As a result, it will assist government to more effectively meet the

challenges of the next millennium," Calvert said.



The new classification plan, which was jointly developed by the Public

Service Commission and the Saskatchewan Government and General

Employees Union, covers approximately 10,000 employees. The

ratification of this plan is the culmination of a two-year process

which involved an evaluation of all in-scope positions. A primary

goal was to eliminate gender bias in the valuing of work and setting

of wages.



"Pay equity is a key feature of the new classification plan,"

said Judy Bradley, minister responsible for the Status of Women.

"The implementation of this plan is a key milestone in the

government strategy for achieving negotiated pay equity within

the public sector."



The new classification plan will result in pay equity increases

for 81 per cent of employees in female-dominated occupations.



Wage adjustments associated with the plan will be phased in over

five years. It will cost 2.12 per cent of annual payroll in

1998, 1.9 per cent in 1999, 1.03 per cent in 2000 and

.95 per cent in 2001.



Many female-dominated occupations will be receiving wage

adjustments. For example, 96 per cent of all clerical positions

will receive pay increases averaging 12 per cent over five years.

Laboratory clerks will receive increases averaging 18 per cent

over five years. Parental care attendants will receive increases

averaging 17 per cent over five years.



Since the plan also addresses internal equity, which ensures that

all positions within the organization are paid equitably, 77 per

cent of employees in male-dominated jobs will receive increases.



The government's Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value policy

framework requires equity increases to be separate from other

general wage increases. When government committed to developing

a new equity-based classification plan, the additional costs were

anticipated and accommodated within the government's financial

plan.



"We are committed to achieving pay equity within the public

sector through the collective bargaining process," Bradley said.

"The new classification plan for government employees shows that

this approach is paying off."



Pay equity initiatives are either completed or underway in 24

other public sector workplaces. These include all Crown

corporations and agencies, SIAST and regional colleges.



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For more information, contact:



Sharon Roulston

Public Service Commission

Regina

Phone: (306) 787-7506