The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
Log in

Letter to the Chief Human Resources Officer about the PSES (2)

October 18, 2018

Nancy Chahwan
Chief Human Resources Officer
OCHRO, Treasury Board Secretariat
219 Laurier, Ottawa ON K1P 5J6
By email: nancy.chahwan@tbs-sct.gc.ca

Dear Ms. Chahwan,

I am writing today as a follow-up to my October 15, 2018 letter about the most recent Public Service Employee Survey (PSES).

Since I first wrote to you on this issue, several of my members have contacted me to express their concerns over the need for clarity around some of the terms used in the PSES. I am sure you will agree that for Public Service Employee Survey results to be meaningful, questions must be presented in as clear a manner as possible. In this context, I would like to suggest that the 2019 PSES include definitions of the terms “senior management”, “staff”, “work unit”, “people I work with”, and “employees”.

Given that the government and bargaining agents both rely on the results of the survey to support their consultation work, I believe it is critical that the PSES be written in a manner that leaves respondents with no uncertainty as to the meaning of a question or the terminology used.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to our ongoing work together on issues of common interest.

Sincerely,

Debi Daviau
President
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada

Published on 18 October 2018

6 October 2017
Fix Phoenix

Words to Live By

Radio-Canada and the CBC have reported this week that Phoenix was “doomed from the start.” The reason? The business case prepared in 2009 under the previous government “lacked proper risk analysis and was politically motivated.” In the words of former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, “You look at this business case, you can drive trucks through some of the holes under the risk analysis.”
3 October 2017
Fix Phoenix

PSPC releases latest Pay Bulletin

In light of the Phoenix fiasco and as part of a commitment made to bargaining agents to make it easier for their members to obtain information about their pay, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSCPC) has just released its Pay Bulletin for September.
2 October 2017
Fix Phoenix

Institute files two new policy grievances over Phoenix

The Institute has just filed two new policy grievances on Phoenix-related issues, accusing the Treasury Board of failing to implement the terms of the AV and SP Group collective agreements within the specified timeframe (120 and 90 days respectively).
29 September 2017
Fix Phoenix

The Phoenix Pay System’s Not-So-Golden Handshake

While much has been reported about the impact of the Phoenix pay system on current federal employees, comparatively little has been said about the harm done to retirees.
21 July 2017
PIPSC Logo

Fixing Phoenix

Recently, I sent an opinion piece to the Globe and Mail about our members’ ongoing problems with the Phoenix pay system and what I consider to be one of the root causes of the debacle: outsourcing.
12 June 2017

Outsourcing 2.0 isn’t worth the upgrade

The recent recommendations of yet another consultants’ report on Shared Services Canada (SSC) demonstrate that, when it comes to federal government outsourcing, there’s no shortage of private sector advice.