Wage transparency a step toward attracting workers to P.E.I., say Greens

New legislation requiring employers to list salaries on job ads will make P.E.I. a more attractive place to work, says Green MLA Trish Altass.

The legislation, the result of a private member's bill from Altass, came into effect June 1.

Altass said she was surprisedduring public consultations on the measureto hear from a number of workers, many of them young, who said they had chosen not to apply for jobs because no salary amount was listed.

"Workers have been through experiences where they've applied for a job, where they've had a certain salary expectation, gone through the long process of interviews and it can be quite time-consuming and then find out it's not what they expected or what's going to allow them to meet their basic needs," she said.

"Making changes like this to show that P.E.I. respects workers, and we value workers, and that we want them to have all of the information so they can make informed decisions about their work, is a really good step toward making P.E.I. stand out in that competitive labour market."

During a transition period, provincial officials intend to take note of any complaints about ads that don't include salary ranges, and contact employers to let them know the law has changed.

Patricia McPhail, P.E.I.'s director of labour and industrial relations, said while the responsibility for providing a salary range lies with the employer, the province has also been in touch with private job boards to seek their co-operation.

"We have had responses from one in particular that said they were happy to see it, and they were going to work with their employers to make sure that they're including the information in their ads," said McPhail.

It is still not clear how the P.E.I. legislation might apply to remote work, for employers in other provinces. That would depend on how the ad was written, said McPhail.