While the current government has been right to criticize the last one for laying off hundreds of compensation staff before it rolled out Phoenix, it’s the decisions around outsourcing such projects in the first place that demand a rethink.
On June 1, the RE Group Collective Agreement was signed. We are going to see the first effects on our pay on July 12. The pay of most RE members will be adjusted based on the new hourly rate. There will also be a partial or full retroactive payment.
I am pleased to report that our initiative to recruit and train CSs to work on Phoenix is making good progress. I made a strong case for building the government’s in-house capacity at my recent meeting with the Cabinet Committee of Ministers tasked with fixing the beleaguered Phoenix pay system.
So much of what went wrong with Phoenix stems from the former government’s wrongheaded decision to outsource the technical work of testing and implementing the project to a large multinational IT company. Now we are left not only with a faulty system but with integration and end-to-end issues that are exacerbating the problems.
Bringing in more public servants and training them sends not only a message that we are turning a corner on an ideological approach to IT modernization but also initiating an approach that makes economic sense. The government already employs over 13,000 CSs, making it one of the largest IT employers in the country. Why would the Canadian government not use their own in-house resources?
Stay tuned for a joint call out from Public Services and Procurement Canada for CSs to train and work on Phoenix – an exciting opportunity to showcase public service talent, get much needed access to training and help get our colleagues paid on time and correctly.
Chalk this one up in the victory column for public servants and for common sense!
Better Together!
Debi Daviau
President
You collective agreement has expired, and now it is time to re-negotiate with the employer for better wages and working conditions. The BCFNHA bargaining team will be holding 2 conference calls in order to obtain your input on what you would like to see included in your next collective agreement. This information will go directly to help set our bargaining priorities as a group.
On either Wednesday July 19, 2017 or Tuesday July 25, 2017 from 12:00 – 1:00 pm Pacific Time
The Shared Services Canada (SSC) Consultation Team is looking for stewards to volunteer to represent the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) in consultation meetings with Shared Service Canada.
The Consultation Team is currently in negotiations with Shared Services Canada to change the consultation model to a Branch Consultation model from the current Regional Consultation model. To facilitate this change the Consultation Team is looking for new members.
TIME: 4:30 PM Registration and Meet and Greet
5:00 p.m. Dinner and Dessert
5:45 p.m. Meeting & Elections
LOCATION: The RA Conference Centre, 2451 Riverside Dr, Ottawa, ON K1H 7X7
The results are in - the Tentative Agreement reached between the PIPSC - NEB Group bargaining team and the Employer was ratified by the membership. Over 240 members participated in the vote, with a result of 97.9% in favour.
The Collective Agreement covers a four year period from November 1, 2014 to October 31, 2018.
This information is currently under review and will be updated in the near future.