From the Collective Agreement between CUPE 1281 & The Guelph Resource Centre for
Gender Empowerment and Diversity (GRCGED)
15.01 Employment Equity
15.01.1 The Employer and the Union agree on the following and believe:
a) that we live in a society rooted in oppression,
b) that structural injustice and unconscious prejudice influence our experiences and the decisions that we make,
c) that there is no such thing as a “level playing field” with regards to people’s experience and job qualifications and methods of evaluating the above,
d) that any progressively-oriented organization has a need for experience, knowledge, and guidance from oppressed people, especially in the case in which oppressed people are currently underrepresented within the culture of such an organization,
e) that policies such as employment equity policies exist to address and compensate for the above dynamics and to help the Employer identify the best candidate for a job based on qualifications and considerations which are not always easily represented in a traditional resume or job application.
Therefore, GRCGED encourages members from oppressed communities, such as aboriginal people, immigrants, members of non-dominant ethnic, linguistic, religious and/or cultural groups, people of colour, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, queer people, refugees, single and sole-support parents, transgendered, transsexual and gender-queer people and working class people to apply and to identify as an employment equity candidate in their cover letter.Â
All job postings shall consider the ability to uphold the GRCGED vision and basis of unity as a required qualification as well as the ability to work within an anti-oppressive environment. All candidates who identify under employment equity and who meet the required qualifications for the job shall be shortlisted for an interview.
The GRCGED shall recognize non-formal experience and education as being equally valuable to formal education and work. The GRCGED shall also consider the candidate’s ability to address oppression within the GRCGED.
Where two or more candidates are equally or equivalently qualified for a job, priority will be given to a candidate who qualifies under employment equity.
Where no employment equity candidates are considered qualified for the job but two or more candidates are equally or equivalently qualified, priority will be given to the candidate who the hiring committee believes can best uphold the GRCGED vision and basis of unity, work within an anti-oppressive environment, and work with oppressed communities, especially those currently underrepresented at the GRCGED.
15.01.2 The GRCGED shall abide by the Employment Equity Policy outlined in 15.01.1 and shall include it in all job postings.
