New Brunswick community sector workers underpaid, exhausted: NB Coalition for Pay Equity report

Workers in New Brunswick’s community nonprofit sector are underpaid and exhausted, according to a new report from the Moncton-based New Brunswick Coalition for Pay Equity.

The average salary for workers in the community sector was $33,772 by 2021, compared to the provincial average of $53,102, according to figures from Statistics Canada cited in the report. There were 12,000 people working in the sector by 2023, and most of them are women.

“Because 66 per cent of the workforce is made up of women, the sector’s chronic underfunding and precarious conditions cannot be separated from the broader gendered undervaluation of care work,” the report states.

The research examined nonprofits that offer services to vulnerable people and advocate for social justice, with examples including food banks, transition houses, and newcomer organizations.

The NB Coalition for Pay Equity held a series of consultation sessions in Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John and Caraquet, and launched a province-wide survey. Altogether, researchers gathered information from roughly 290 workers and managers from more than 50 organizations.

The study found that although workers in the sector typically receive low compensation and few benefits, their jobs require a high level of responsibility, skill, and effort. Workers reported difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions.

“I don’t know anyone who would take a punch to the head or have their life threatened repeatedly for $26 an hour,” said one frontline worker who was quoted in the study. “The staff at my house, specifically, risk their lives every day, and I think our pay should reflect that.”

Only three per cent of survey respondents reported that their salary covers their basic needs completely. Workers who took part in consultation sessions also indicated that many of them rely on second jobs, food banks, and financial support from partners or family.

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Workers also described “persistent wage inequalities” and said that a culture of secrecy prevents them from advocating for better treatment. Indeed, data from Statistics Canada reveals wage disparities in the sector, with significantly lower compensation for women, Indigenous people, and visible minorities.

Faced with pressure to fulfill the mandates of short-staffed organizations, employees even find themselves doing unpaid work. More than 40 per cent of survey participants indicated that they have been expected to work without pay.

“This resulted in participants feeling they were taken advantage of or exploited, which eventually contributes to the cycle of burnout and turnover in the sector,” the report states.

Nonprofits tend to rely on membership fees, donations, and provincial or federal government funding. The latter in particular tends to be “short-term, restrictive, and unpredictable” and often fails to cover a living wage. And while donations help fill the gaps that occur between funding cycles, the work of fundraising tends to become an “all-consuming ” task.

The report includes a number of recommendations, including a call for nonprofits to “prioritize workers’ wellbeing so they can adequately support communities.”

Other recommendations include a call for organizations to launch collective initiatives such as sector-wide health benefits. Perhaps most crucially, the report calls for “stable and sustainable funding” from governments.

The NB Coalition for Pay Equity has also launched a microsite at equitablenb.ca that highlights the findings. It also includes a link to the full 45-page report.

David Gordon Koch is a journalist with the NB Media Co-op. This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, via the Local Journalism Initiative.