For Immediate Release
Ottawa, July 6, 2016 – The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is calling on the federal government to pay interest on delayed or underpaid paycheques due to problems with its Phoenix pay system.
“Some of our members have had to dig into their savings or use their credit cards or lines of credit just to make ends meet”, said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. “I agree with Scott Brison that 'this is totally unacceptable.’”
PIPSC's recommendation would see the government mitigate the interest fees that public service professionals have had to incur due to pay problems.
PIPSC is also calling on the government to immediately contact all of Canada’s major financial institutions and utilities and urge them to show flexibility towards individuals who are experiencing cash flow issues caused by Phoenix.
“No one should be penalized for missed payments or for having insufficient funds due to circumstances completely beyond their control," said Daviau. "Hard working public service professionals should not be paying the price for the failure of the new pay system.”
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada represents some 55,000 scientists and other professionals across Canada’s public sector, all of whom deserve and expect to be paid on time.
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For further information: Pierre Villon 613-228-6310 ext 4928 (office) or 613-794-9369 (cell.) pvillon@pipsc.ca