OTTAWA, February 23, 2017 – On the first anniversary of Phoenix, the three largest federal public service unions are urging the government to include a $75 million Phoenix contingency fund in the upcoming federal budget.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) say the funds are critical to help ensure federal public service workers are paid correctly and on-time.

“Our members are growing increasingly frustrated with this situation. If departments don’t have the proper resources, pay problems will never be resolved,” said Chris Aylward, PSAC National Executive Vice-President. “The solution to the Phoenix debacle needs to go beyond the technological fixes. This fund will broaden the capacity of departments to address the challenges they are facing as a result of the new pay system.”

The unions have been working with the government to help fix Phoenix and find solutions to its numerous problems. Through this work, it has become clear that federal departments and agencies need more staff and training to deal with Phoenix. The $75 million contingency fund will give departments and agencies the resources they need to do this.

“It’s quite clear that Phoenix has not been the boon to either efficiency or cost savings it was intended to be,” added PIPSC President Debi Daviau. “Budgeting more money to address the system’s continued failings is the least the government should do after a year with this problem-plagued system. Our members and Canadians need Phoenix fixed."

“Our members have shown remarkable patience in regards to the Phoenix Pay problems; that’s a testament to how deeply our members care about the work they do on behalf of Canadians,” said CAPE Acting President André Picotte. “As a union, we’ve helped guide our members towards solutions, but ultimately it’s the government that has the power to fix this problem once and for all.”

The unions are also encouraging their members to participate in a variety of actions in order to draw attention to the one-year anniversary, such as contacting their MPs and writing to the Prime Minister.

For more information:

Véronique Breton, PSAC, 343-560-8882 or bretonv@psac.com

Johanne Fillion, PIPSC, 613-883-4900 or jfillion@pipsc.ca

Ben René, CAPE, 613-406-5962 or brene@acep-cape.ca

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, February 21, 2017 – The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) will hold a joint press conference to mark the first anniversary of Phoenix and make an announcement.

Thursday, February 23
1:00 PM ET

Press Conference with Chris Aylward, PSAC National Executive Vice-President, Debi Daviau, PIPSC President and a representative from CAPE.

Charles Lynch Room, 130-S Centre Block
House of Commons

PSAC, PIPSC and CAPE represent over 240,000 federal government employees.

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For further information:
Véronique Breton, PSAC, (343) 540-8882 (cell), BretonV@psac-afpc.com
Johanne Fillion, PIPSC, (613) 883-4900 (cell), jfillion@pipsc.ca

Can you believe it? Friday Feb 24 marks the first anniversary of Phoenix’s implementation. A year of anxiety and problems for public service professionals and the government.

That’s why we’re going to mark this sad anniversary with a Day of Action and a clear message that enough is enough! Fix Phoenix!

Print one of these posters and take a selfie with them. Post the selfie on your social media accounts. If you’re on Twitter, tag Minister Foote on the picture @Judy_Foote and use the hashtag #FixPhoenix

Dear Members,

We are pleased to share with you news that the Treasury Board is now directing all departments to issue salary advances to employees who are experiencing missing or reduced pay due to problems with the Phoenix pay system.

I held a press conference on January 12 to call for immediate action on this front. We are pleased that our union’s call for systems to help those facing hardship due to ongoing problems with Phoenix will now be better addressed.

Included here is the Treasury Board’s memo to Deputy Heads, which encourages them to use priority payments for people who are experiencing hardship due to pay problems. We had heard from members that they were suffering often because of a lack of access to emergency pay. We appreciate that, following our urging, the Treasury Board has taken steps to address this gap.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please call your regional office to speak to one of our Employment Relations Officers.

Better Together!

Debi

MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release

Ottawa, January 12, 2017 – The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is calling on the federal government to introduce a separate pay system to deal with the most serious Phoenix pay problems and ensure federal employees are properly paid.

“Our members have waited far too long, and we’ve heard far too many horror stories,” said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. “Employees who are struggling with substantially reduced pay – or no pay at all – should be paid through a separate but parallel system until the problems with Phoenix are fixed and they can be reintegrated into the system.”

“We were promised that the shortcomings with emergency pay would be addressed,” added Daviau, “and that someone who has not been adequately paid could have access to salary advances. Right now, they have nothing. It’s been almost a year since the Phoenix fiasco was foisted on our members. The government’s calls for patience have grown unreasonable.”

PIPSC represents some 55,000 public-sector scientists and other professionals across the country, most of them employed by the federal government.

Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter (@pipsc_ipfpc)

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For further information:
Johanne Fillion,
(613) 228-6310 ext 4953 (office)
or (613) 883-4900 (cell.),
jfillion@pipsc.ca