OSSTF/FEESO supports Equal Pay Day-It is time to end the gender pay gap

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 16, 2014) - The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) recognizes April 16 as Equal Pay Day and continues to support all efforts by the Equal Pay Coalition to end the gender pay gap in Ontario.

"It continues to sadden and astound me and the members of our Federation that on average in Ontario, women earn 31 per cent less than men," said OSSTF/FEESO President Paul Elliott. "What makes matters worse is that this pay gap widened by 3 per cent in just the past year."

In 2013, Equal Pay Day occurred on April 9. In 2014, women will have to work an additional 106 days or the equivalent of working until April 16, until their average annual earnings equal that of men.

"It is no coincidence that the recent increase in the gender pay gap has occurred at the same time as attacks on the rights of workers and cuts to government services at all levels," continued Elliott. "Women make up a majority of part-time workers in this province. Combine that with a lack of access to both affordable childcare and collective bargaining, you end up with a recipe for continued discrimination against women."

Elliott concluded by stating, "Gender pay gaps are a human rights violation. We all must work together to bring fairness for all workers and close this pay gap between women and men."

OSSTF/FEESO, founded in 1919, has 60,000 members across Ontario. They include public high school teachers, occasional teachers, educational assistants, continuing education teachers and instructors, early childhood educators, psychologists, secretaries, speech-language pathologists, social workers, plant support personnel, university support staff, and many others in education.