Employment Equity in the Federal Public Service of Canada

Transcription

1 Employment Equity in the Federal Public Service of Canada Presentation to the International Public Management Association for Human Resources September 11, 2003 Cynthia Binnington Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

2 This Presentation Describes the governance model, priorities and strategies designed to make the Public Service of Canada (PS) a more representative and inclusive public institution Outlines the principal roles of the key stakeholders Identifies the challenges and responses in implementing employment equity in the Canadian federal PS 2

3 The Federal Public Service of Canada (PS) The Canadian PS includes over 60 departments with some 157,510 employees Of this workforce: 3% executive category 13% scientific and professional category 40% administrative and foreign service category 11% technical category 21% administrative support category 12% operational category 3

4 The Canadian Federal Public Sector In addition to the core Public Service for which the Treasury Board is the employer, federal government employment in 2002 encompassed another 207,650 employees, including members of the armed forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, etc., The Public Service of Canada is Canada s largest single employer 4

5 A Representative and Inclusive Public Service of Canada PS is a national institution that must be competent, professional, non-partisan and representative of the public it serves To remain relevant and legitimate, it should draw from the diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and experiential backgrounds of the Canadian population 5

6 Some Legislative Reference Points 1977: Canadian Parliament enacts the Canadian Human Rights Act 1978: Voluntary Affirmative Action Programs in some organisations 1983: Royal Commission on Equality in Employment 1984: Equality Now Report 1986: Employment Equity Act passed in Canadian Parliament 1996: Employment Equity Act amended and covers PS and most public sector institutions 6

7 Governance of EE in the PS Key Players Treasury Board of Canada, Secretariat Public Service Commission Canadian Human Rights Commission Human Resources Development Canada (Labour Program) Other Players PS Departments and agencies Bargaining Agents (unions) Other representatives of the designated groups Canadian Public 7

8 TBS Management Framework Promotes Public Service values and strives for excellence in service for Canadians Shows leadership in developing an exemplary workplace characterized by: support for employees encouragement of initiative, trust and communication respect for diversity Embraces diversity and implements employment equity by delivering on requirements of the Employment Equity Act Develops and institutes an enabling policy framework 8

9 Activities Under the Legislation 3 Employment Systems Review 4 Employment Equity Plan [Reasonable Progress] 2 Workforce Analysis 5 Monitoring of Progress (Annual Report) [Reasonable Efforts] 1 Workforce Survey (Self-Identification) 6 Review and Revision of Plan 7 Audit by CHRC (every 5 years) Communication with employees Consultation and collaboration with employees representatives Updating Record keeping 9

10 Policies Employment Equity Policy (sets the relationship between the TB, as the employer, and departments in implementing employment equity; currently being revised) Policy on The Duty to Accommodate Persons with Disabilities in the federal Public Service (seeks inclusion by design) 10

11 Becoming a Representative PS: How Are We Doing? Representation in the FPS Workforce Availability Wmn PWD's Abor. VM's 11

12 Performance in the Private Sector Covered by the EE Act Wmn. PWD's Abor. VM's Representation in the private sector Labour Market Availability 12

13 Making EE Happen: Canadian Government Commitment Reflected in the following: Speeches from the Throne opening each session of parliament Annual Reports from the Head of the Public Service to the Prime Minister The Corporate Priorities for the Public Service of Canada 13

14 Tangible Support to Reinforce Commitment To assist departments, TBS has developed the following programs: Special Measures Initiative Program; ($32.5M ) Employment Equity Positive Measures Program; (up to $10M annually) Employment Equity Embracing Change Support Fund; (up to $10M annually) 14

15 Why employment equity matters? For women Increased participation in the Executive category For Aboriginal peoples Retention issues and broader distribution throughout the PS For persons with disabilities Workplace accommodation issues, hiring and career progression For visible minorities Improved participation overall and particularly in the Executive category; implementation of the Embracing Change Action Plan 15

16 An Example: Embracing Change Task Force on the Participation of Visible Minorities in the federal Public Service Mandated to assess the persistent underrepresentation of visible minorities and propose an Action Plan Action Plan endorsed by the Government of Canada in June

17 The Embracing Change Action Plan Set a benchmark Help departments and managers achieve the benchmark Change the corporate culture Provide for implementation and accountability External advice and independent review Provide for incremental financial resources 17

18 As a Result of the Action Plan $30M financial commitment Number of visible minorities increased from 7,764 to 10,772 in 2 years External recruitment rose to 10% (1,739 of 17,387) Executive level has increased from approximately 100 to 150 Some improvement in the workplace culture 18

19 More Work To Be Done Many challenges still remain: Meeting the benchmarks Improving overall representation, particularly in the Executive category Keeping a pace with the changing face of Canada, in which visible minorities now represent 13% of the population, according to the latest Census 19

20 Conclusion Embracing Change Infomercial 20

21 Contact Information For more information please visit the Employment Equity link on the Treasury Board Secretariat website: Cynthia Binnington, Assistant Secretary of the Employment Equity Division, Treasury Board Secretariat, can be reached at or by at: 21