Librarians' Pay

There's an interesting article in the web magazine The Tyee, titled "Vancouver's Library Strike: Women's Pay on the Line." Tom Sandborn, the author, wrote yesterday, "to date the city negotiators have refused to discuss any of the local's four key bargaining demands: pay equity, improvements for part-time workers, job security and general benefit improvements." Women librarians doing jobs mainly carried out by women are reportedly getting $6 an hour less than people doing jobs for the library that are mainly carried out by men, and the women also have a much slower route to pay advancement.

So, if you ever want to check out the new Harry Potter book down at Mt. Pleasant branch, better call city hall and tell them to Settle the Strike.

Just to spur you on: you may recall that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously in a case involving Newfoundland and Labrador that provincial government had the right to override the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and delay pay equity settlement if budgetary considerations are severe.

If we want equal pay for women workers in Vancouver, we'd better get it in place before the bills for the Olympics hit the fan.