Welcome 2020!

We are heading into the new year, energized and determined.

In the year ahead, we will work hard to get back every cent owed from Phoenix, ratify the new Employee Wellness Support Plan, fight outsourcing and protect our pensions.

Together, we will push the new federal government to make strong commitments in the 2020 federal budget to reduce spending on contracting out and to invest in training. We will continue to identify not only the symptoms of outsourcing, but the root causes of it, like poor staffing mechanisms. And, we will work with the Treasury Board to fulfill their mandate of reducing hiring time to 5 months or less.

Our work to protect your pensions remains a top priority. We are launching a new pensions campaign in 2020 informing members of what their pension benefits are and how together we will protect those benefits for years to come.

Since December 2016, we have been negotiating with the Treasury Board to create an Employee Wellness Support Program. We are now finalizing an agreement. In the year ahead, many members will vote on the new Employee Wellness Support Program, which meets the real needs of our members. This is our plan. This is a big win.

In the year ahead, we will see the full rollout of the Phoenix compensation deal. You will have access to a claims process for expenses and financial losses due to Phoenix as well as damages for the severe impact caused by Phoenix. You will get back every cent that you are owed from Phoenix

We will continue to push the government to ensure adequate resources for the new NextGen Human Resources and Pay System.

Our members in the Computer Systems (CS) group are working hard for a new collective agreement. Our union, 60,000 members strong, stand together with the CS group fighting for pay parity, securing call-back pay and ensuring investment in training. We stand together with all groups working toward a new collective agreement.

Our goals are significant. And we are up to the challenge. We have 100 years of progress to stand on. And we’re going into our next century stronger than ever.

Let’s get to work!


6 October 2017
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
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
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
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
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
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.