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©1998, SLA WCC

The Saskatchewan Government has devised, and is in the process of implementing a new classification plan for unionized employees. The new classification plan will be implemented October 1, 1998. The existing classification plan is over 40 years old and a new classification was desperately required.

The new classification plan claims to offer equal pay for work of equal value and meet the requirements of the Pay Equity Policy Framework which was developed by the Women’s Secretariat and adopted by Saskatchewan Government. All staff completed a Job Assignment Form (JAF) which detailed their work and responsibilities. The JAFs were divided and rated in the following categories:

Factor 1:	Problem-solving was worth 22%
Factor 2:	Decision-making was worth 8%
Factor 3:	Human Relations Skill was worth 20%
	composed of Interpersonal Skill 8% and Communication Skill 12%
Factor 4:	esponsibility for the Work of Others 12%
Factor 5:	Job Knowledge 26%
	composed of Formal Education 11% and Program Knowledge 15%
Factor 6:	Working Conditions 4%
Factor 7:	Demand 4%
Factor 8:	Co-ordination 4%

The new classification plan has benefited a majority of the employees. Seventy-seven per cent of the jobs have been upgraded, and as of June 1998 23% of the jobs have been red-circled. Eighty-one per cent of employees in female-dominated occupations will receive increases and 77% of employees in male-dominated occupations will receive increases.

Despite the fact that 81% of employees in female-dominated occupations will receive increases, many knowledge workers such as librarians, library technicians, archivists, information and research officers, who happen to be mostly women, have not fared well under the new class plan. Employees’ wages will be red-circled, so staff will not see a reduction in pay, but it is my understanding that in most other equity plans, knowledge workers, especially librarians, have been recognized for the work they perform and have seen pay increases. The federal government librarians are one such group where they benefited from a pay equity program.

The present pay schedule for library staff under the old classification plan is as follows with each classification having 6 pay bands:

Library Technician I	$1884 to $2207 per month (Canadian $)
Library Technician II	$1995 to $2371
Library Supervisor	$2503 to $3020
Librarian I	$2503 to $3020
Librarian II	$2749 to $3332
Librarian III	$3081 to 3760
Librarian IV	$3332 to 4066

As seen from the pay schedule, library staff in Saskatchewan Government are not presently overpaid.

In Saskatchewan Government, there are at least 62 people who are employed in libraries or archives: 19 library technicians I, 10 library technicians II, at least 4 library supervisors, 4 librarians I, 18 librarians II, 4 librarians III and 3 librarian IV

From the information received which was dated May 20, 1998, a librarian at Saskatchewan Provincial Library did an analysis of employees and whether they will be receiving a pay increase or be red-circled. Complete data is not available at this time. Her analysis of 34 library positions concluded that

9 library technicians I will receive a 3.3% increase 6 library technicians I will receive a 9.5% increase 4 library technicians II will receive a 11.9% decrease 7 librarian II will receive a 18.2% decrease 5 librarian II will receive a 9.4% decrease 3 librarian III will receive a 23.4% decrease

Unless pay adjustments are made to the positions which have been red-circled, new staff accepting those positions will be paid less.

Library staff throughout Saskatchewan Government are planning strategies on how they can get recognized and compensated for the valuable work they perform. We have asked about market value compensation, but the Saskatchewan Government only uses market adjustments for classifications where they have difficulty hiring and retaining employees. That is not the case for the knowledge sectors, so a market adjustment will not be forthcoming. Many knowledge workers who have been red-circled will be appealing their performance ratings. Red-circled employees will receive economic increases which are dated October 1, 1997 and October 1, 1998, and they will receive 2/3 of the October 1999 pay increase and 1/3 of the October 2000 increase.

If anyone has had experience with pay equity, I would appreciate hearing from you to find out how library staff have fared.