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Implementation of Comparable Worth in Canada
Author(s) -
Gunderson Morley
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 122
eISSN - 1540-4560
pISSN - 0022-4537
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-4560.1989.tb02368.x
Subject(s) - enforcement , legislation , collective bargaining , flexibility (engineering) , business , relevance (law) , resistance (ecology) , economics , public economics , labour economics , political science , management , law , ecology , biology
This paper describes issues involved in the implementation of comparable worth in Canada, where comparable worth has been instituted in federal employment and in a number of provinces. The Canadian experience with comparable worth has international relevance because of its extensive coverage, its application to the private sector, its integration with collective bargaining, and its emphasis on a proactive, regulatory approach. The paper discusses issues of fairness associated with practical aspects of program design, implementation, and enforcement. Lessons to be learned from the Canadian experience include limitations of a complaints‐based system, the desirability of phasing in the legislation, the feasibility of flexibility, reduction of employer resistance through a maximum ceiling on adjustment costs, and the desirability of implementation through collective bargaining where it exists.