Nova Scotia’s Liberal government is proposing changes to the Labour Standards Code it expects will make it harder for employers to pay women less than men for doing the same work.
Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis tabled amendments Thursday that would prohibit employers from asking prospective employees about their wage history.
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The provision is intended to make it more difficult to establish a wage based on what people earned previously.
The changes would also prevent companies from barring staff from disclosing their wages to other employees.
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Kousoulis calls the changes an important first step toward narrowing the gender wage gap in a province.
Community Services Minister Kelly Regan says on average, women in Nova Scotia make 73 cents for every dollar earned by a man doing roughly the same job.