FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2017
PSAC Members Mark the One-Year Anniversary of the Pheonix Pay System
HALIFAX, NS – Today members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) who are employed by the Government of Canada will be taking various actions to demonstrate their frustration with the Pheonix pay system on its one year-anniversary.
This is a very sad anniversary for public service workers. A year ago, the Liberal government began its rollout of Phoenix, the consolidated payroll system for the federal public service. Since then, thousands of workers have been paid incorrectly or, in some cases, not at all. This has caused financial hardship and stress for these workers. And many more worry every pay day if they will be the next victim of the Phoenix debacle. The Phoenix debacle wasn’t an accident; it was the result of a series of conscious decisions by the former and current federal government.
Jeannie Baldwin, Regional Executive Vice-President of PSAC’s Atlantic Region had the following to say about the ordeal: “You will see Fix Phoenix messages spray painted on snowbanks, members holding demos on their lunch hour, members wearing black clothing and many other creative ideas in order to highlight this sad day. Government of Canada employees should get paid on time and accurately – period.
As the largest union representing federal government employees PSAC has been working with the government to help fix Phoenix and find solutions to alleviate the negative impact this pay system has on our members. Through this work, it has become clear that federal departments and agencies require additional human resource capacity, as well as continuous training, in order to adjust to the changes required by Phoenix.
If departments are not resourced properly to address these new roles, Phoenix will never be fixed. That is why PSAC is urging the government to include a $75 million Phoenix contingency fund in the upcoming federal budget. Departments and agencies could draw from this fund to respond to problems and adjust to the new pay input structure so that essential pay information is entered correctly and consistently. In turn, this will increase the government’s capacity to ensure federal public service workers are paid correctly and on-time.
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Information and interviews:
Jeannie Baldwin, Regional Executive Vice-President
902-275-7945 | baldwij@psac-afpc.com