The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
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Salary overpayments caused by Phoenix: the government finally takes a step in the right direction

The federal government has just announced that it is proposing new measures to help correct the wide-ranging issue of employees having to repay the gross instead of the net amount of a salary overpayment caused by system, administrative or clerical errors. This is particularly significant for PIPSC members: tens of thousands of you have experienced this problem first-hand thanks to the calamitous Phoenix system.
Published on 16 January 2019

2019: The Year Ahead

The New Year will see the Institute continue to be very active in defending the interests of its members, and I would like to take this opportunity to keep you informed of some of the key issues we will be facing over the next twelve months.
Published on 15 January 2019

While PIPSC, alongside our union partners at the National Joint Council Dental Care Board of Management, is still negotiating hard to improve the majority of our members’ dental plan (NJC Component 55555), I am very pleased to announce that we have nailed down the following significant improvements, effective January 1, 2019. The major and minor changes to the plans starting next month are as follows:

Major changes

The annual maximum coverage for routine and major services will increase 47%. The increase will be phased in from the current maximum of $1,700 per year to:

  • $2,000 per year starting January 1, 2019;
  • $2,250 per year starting January 1, 2020; and
  • $2,500 per year starting January 1, 2021.

In addition,

  • Dental implants will be covered in their own right. (Currently, implants are partially covered by deeming them to be another procedure, i.e., a bridge or dentures. This has often led to gaps in, or problems with, coverage.)
  • Coverage for replacement fillings for children will be possible 12 months after the initial filling is done (instead of 24 months).
  • Congenitally missing teeth will be covered until age 21 (up from age 19).
  • Coverage during suspensions is improved.
  • An allowable break in service to become eligible for the plan is extended from 5 to 7 days.  
  • The new plan allows coverage for extra scaling to be approved retroactively. (Currently, this may only be approved in advance.)

Minor changes

  • Charges for oral hygiene instructions will now be limited to once per lifetime per adult (and remain once per year for children).
  • Coverage is eliminated for minor issues such as:
    • The assistance of a second oral surgeon.
    • Dental professional peer consultation.
    • Trauma control if done at the same time as treatment for caries or pain control.
    • Enlargement of the canal or pulp chamber as a part of dental treatment separate from doing a root canal.

For clarification on any of these plan changes please contact Dejan Toncic at dtoncic@pipsc.ca.

Better Together,

Debi Daviau
President

 

 

Published on 4 December 2018

The Public Service Hiring Process

On October 4, 2018 I made a presentation to the Government Operations Committee of the House of Commons about the current state of the federal public service hiring process. This was very timely, as the government had just released its own study of the issue.
Published on 10 October 2018

Extension of pension deadline proposed for Canadian Nuclear Laboratories

On September 26, 2018 Member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie (Elmwood-Transcona, NDP) introduced Private Member’s Bill C-414, which seeks to extend by one year the deadline by which employees of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories can continue contributing to their public service pension plans.
Published on 1 October 2018