U of T employees draw public attention to fair pay battle

Campaign hoping to help close Ontario's 29 per cent gender pay gap: Ontario's Equal Pay Coalition

University of Toronto employees have launched a unique advertising campaign in their fight for pay equity.

The campaign by U of T administrative and technical staff, represented by the United Steelworkers (USW), includes newspaper ads, social media marketing, on-the-street handbilling and in recent days advertising on bus shelters throughout the city.

"Since 1999, we have been pushing the university to ensure our jobs are paid fairly and without gender bias," said Allison Dubarry, USW Local 1998 president.

"The University of Toronto is Canada's highest-ranking university and it owes much of its success to its staff," said Dubarry. "But our work is often not properly recognized or paid. Over the years, the job-evaluation process has shown there are widespread pay inequities."

The union is attempting to negotiate a plan with the university to end these inequities. This pay equity project affects 3,800 union members — 70 per cent of whom are women, said Dubarry.

"The battle at U of T is part of the ongoing campaign to close Ontario's 29 per cent gender pay gap," said Mary Cornish, chair of Ontario's Equal Pay Coalition. 

The campaign is sponsored by the Steelworkers Toronto Area Council, which represents thousands of workers in the GTA.

Latest stories