Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jul 31/98) - The Union of Northern Workers is claiming victory, but the GNWT says it's not a win-or-lose situation.

On Wednesday, a Canadian Human Rights Commission tribunal ruled in favor of the Public Service Alliance of Canada's claim that the federal government pay system is biased against women.

"It's a great victory. It confirms a lot of what we have been saying all along," UNW president Jackie Simpson said Wednesday.

The 200-page ruling is expected to have a strong impact on the 10-year outstanding pay-equity complaint against the GNWT. The classification system used in the federal government case is essentially the same as that used by the GNWT, said Simpson.

"The writing is on the wall and it's now time for Mr. Todd to start reading it," she said. "The bill is not going to go away no matter how long they stall."

Finance Minister John Todd did not have an opportunity to look at the tribunal's decision in full detail on Wednesday but by glancing over it, he likes what he sees.

"Our first look at it, we're not dissatisfied with some of the recommendations of the judgments made by the tribunal. In the process, from what I can see, I think that our GNWT pay-equity settlement offer is good, if not better, than what the tribunal decision is in respect to the treasury board complaint," said Todd.

The GNWT's last settlement offer to resolve the issue worked out to about $40 million.

Todd said if he is correct in thinking their pay-equity offer is better than what is being recommended in this judgment, he would like to get back to the bargaining table with a mediator and get the offer out to the people where it belongs.

But Simpson said this tribunal decision -- which affects hundreds of thousands of past and current federal government employees, including about 150 federal clerks in the NWT -- shows that the government is way off the mark with its $40-million offer.

"We want a quick settlement of the pay-equity complaint but it has to be a full and fair settlement," she said.

The cost to resolve the federal pay-equity dispute is expected to be substantially higher than the $1.3 billion offered by Ottawa to settle the problem.

The GNWT's pay-equity complaint is expected to go before a tribunal in the near future with pre-hearing dates slated for sometime in September.