Mr. Chair and committee members, thank you for inviting us to this meeting, which is part of a study on the compensation disparities between unionized and non-unionized workers in Canada.

Statistics Canada has a number of data sources at its disposal, providing a comprehensive picture of the Canadian labour market. Most of the indicators I'm going to mention today are taken from the Labour Force Survey. This monthly survey of some 68,000 households is used to gather information on the characteristics of Canada's labour force, which includes both unionized and non-unionized workers.

According to the latest available data for August 2024, three out of ten employees in Canada were members of a union or covered by a collective agreement. This proportion has remained relatively stable in recent years, but was down slightly compared to 1997, when the question on unionization was introduced in this survey. At that time, 34% of employees in Canada were members of a union or covered by a collective agreement.

Employees who were part of a union in August 2024 earned $37.26 per hour on average, which is higher than the average of $34.30 per hour for employees who were not part of a union. In other words, the union wage premium was about $3 higher, according to the latest data, or 9% higher, on average, per hour.

The difference between union and non-union wages has decreased over the years. In 1997, unionized employees earned 31% more on average than employees who were not in a union. This difference had fallen to 20% by 2017 and was 10% in 2023.

This is in part because wages of non-unionized workers have grown faster than those of unionized workers in recent years. For example, from January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, to August 2024, wages rose 15% for employees who were part of a union but rose 25% for non-unionized employees.

This recent wage growth among non-unionized employees was most notable in a number of high-paying industries, like professional, scientific and technical services. The average hourly wage in this industry was just under $48.00 in August 2024, 9% higher than a year earlier and 32% higher than in January 2020. This industry has one of the lowest rates of unionization at 4%.

Overall, union employees were less likely to have wages in the bottom or top of the wage distribution; rather, they have wages closer to the middle. For example, compared with union workers, non-unionized employees were more likely to be in the top 10% of the wage distribution—11% compared to 8% of union workers—but also more likely to be in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution at 31% versus 11%.

Union workers are also more likely to have a registered pension plan. According to the latest data from Statistics Canada’s survey of financial security, 80% of union workers had a registered pension plan, compared with 23% of non-unionized employees.

Union workers were also more likely than non-unionized employees to have disability insurance—77% versus 48%—in 2023, and access to other workplace benefits, such as maternity and parental benefits, supplementary medical and dental care benefits, sick leave and vacation leave.

The higher wages and the greater workplace benefits for unionized workers can, in part, reflect differences in individual, job, workplace and industry characteristics. For example, union jobs are more typically held by core-age workers with full-time positions, which tend to pay more regardless of union status. On the other hand, youth and those working part time in jobs with low wages in industries such as food services or the retail trade are less likely to be unionized.

Indicators related to job quality point to other potential benefits of being in a union. For example, according to the latest data available, union workers were less likely to report that they might lose their job in the near future—6% versus 9%—and more likely to report having been offered the possibility of taking training through their employer, at 35% versus 27%.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening statement. My colleague Isabelle and I would be happy to answer any of your questions.

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