Press Release

Ottawa, April 28, 2017 – Representatives from several public service unions reacted cautiously yesterday to the creation of a government working group to tackle the Phoenix pay system.

The “Working Group of Ministers on Achieving Steady State for the Pay System”, will be chaired by Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness and comprises several cabinet ministers, including Finance, Treasury Board and Public Services.

Public Service Alliance of Canada President, Robyn Benson, said that “PSAC welcomes any announcement from the government aimed at fixing Phoenix. We appreciate that the government is finally taking these problems seriously, but we need to see some action.” She added that public service employees need a system that pays them accurately and on time. “We have yet to see a timeline for when that will happen.”

“This announcement is the result of constant lobbying by public service unions on behalf of their members,” added Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. “In the last federal budget, the government failed to respond to our request to pledge $75 million to help fix Phoenix. While this is not new money, the $70 million per year for the next two years that they have now committed to Phoenix is welcome news. We will continue to make sure that they spend that money to fix the system.”

Union representatives will work closely with this ministerial working group on Phoenix and will remind the government that it must compensate affected employees for pain and suffering, and compensate them for loss of interest as a result of delayed pay.

According to André Picotte, acting president at the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, “the Phoenix fiasco is the result of plan that did not take the interests of the public service employees to heart.

For his part, Jason Godin, president of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers – CSN said: “We want to be positive and believe that this new initiative to settle Phoenix will be the right one, but we remain cautious. We still have new cases that pop up every two weeks, so it's hard to be very enthusiastic at the moment”.

Finally, public service unions also demand that the government commit to three things: hire more staff with full access to Phoenix in order to respond to the requests made by employees; hire permanent, not temporary, staff at the call centres who have the training and support to help our members and; keep the satellite pay centres open until all problems with Phoenix have been resolved.

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The 18 bargaining agents of the federal public service employees are:

• Association of Canadian Financial Officers
• Association of Justice Counsel
• Canadian Air Traffic Control Association, Unifor Local 5454
• Canadian Association of Professional Employees
• Canadian Federal Pilots Association
• Canadian Merchant Service Guild
• Canadian Military Colleges Faculty Association
• Coast Guard Marine Communications Officers Unifor Local 2182
• Unifor, Local 87-M
• Federal Government Dockyard Chargehands Association
• Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (East)
• Federal Government Dockyard Trades and Labour Council (West)
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 2228
• Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers
• Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
• Public Service Alliance of Canada
• Research Council Employees' Association
• Union of Canadian Correctional Officers - CSN

For information:

Pierre Lebel, CAPE
plebel@acep-cape.ca
613-236-9181, ext 263 or 613-889-1027

Jonathan Choquette, PSAC
choquej@psac-afpc.com
819-773-2511

Johanne Fillion, PIPSC
jfillion@pipsc.ca
613-228-6310, ext 4953 or 613-883-4900

Katerine Desgroseilliers, CSN
Katerine.Desgroseilliers@csn.qc.ca
514-598-2163 or 514-265-4250

For Immediate release

OTTAWA, April 27, 2017 - The announcement today that the federal government will reallocate $140 million over two years to ensure federal employees affected by the Phoenix payroll system are properly paid is a welcome, if long overdue, commitment to fix Phoenix once and for all, says the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC).

"We advocated for a special $75 million reserve fund in the current budget, so this shows the government is finally taking the severity of our members' concerns seriously," said PIPSC President Debi Daviau.

"We're also gratified to see that the government has agreed to reimburse charges for tax advisory services incurred by members due to Phoenix problems. This, after all, is only fair," Daviau added.

"It remains to be seen, however, how effective the government will be in controlling payroll errors in the future,” she added. “We’ve argued for a long time that overreliance on outsourced services – including introduction of the Phoenix payroll software and continued reliance on IBM – programs government functions to fail. We hope the ministerial working group also announced today takes these concerns seriously.”

PIPSC represents some 55,000 public-sector 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 2303 (office) or (613) 883-4900 (cell.), jfillion@pipsc.ca.

For Immediate Release

Ottawa, March 22, 2017 – The federal government announcement that it is investing $529.9 million more to crack down on tax evasion and avoidance by hiring new auditors is good news for tax fairness, but the government’s much-heralded “innovation” budget is lacking in needed, strategic investments in more science staff, says the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC). What’s more, the government continues to be slow in reducing the billions of dollars currently spent on outsourced services, and has offered no new money to resolve ongoing Phoenix Pay problems, despite union calls to do so.

“The new investments in the CRA will help make sure billionaires and corporations pay their fair share,” said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. “But after years of job and program cuts under the Harper government, at least 1,500 science jobs still need to be reinstated to maintain adequate service levels and restore important expertise.

“Reducing the approximately $12 billion annually now spent on outsourced public services would simultaneously strengthen public services and cut down on corporate profits made at taxpayers’ expense,” added Daviau. “The government earlier promised to shrink expenses on outside consultants to 2005-06 levels within 10 years. We feel this can – and should – be done within its current mandate.”

“We are of course disappointed the government has chosen not to invest further in fixing the Phoenix Pay problem once and for all,” concluded Daviau, “surely one of the darkest – and longest – chapters in mismanagement of the federal public service. The silence on Phoenix is deafening.”

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 2303 (office) or (613) 883-4900 (cell.)
e-mail.

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

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

MEDIA ADVISORY : For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, January 11, 2017 – Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) President Debi Daviau will hold a press conference tomorrow on Parliament Hill about the Phoenix pay system’s ongoing problems and outline a key demand of the government.

When: January 12, 2017, 11:30 am
Where: Charles Lynch Room, 130S, Centre Block

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

Attention News/Assignment Editors

MEDIA ADVISORY (Photo Opportunity)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OTTAWA, October 28, 2016 – As Monday, October 31 marks the government own deadline to finally fix the problems plaguing the Phoenix pay system’s, public service employees represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Canadian Association of Professional Employees and the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) will rally in downtown Ottawa to pressure officials into repairing the system once and for all.

"The government set its own October 31 deadline to eliminate the backlog of cases prior to June 1, but we still don’t know if public servants should expect a “trick” or a “treat” Monday. Our patience is wearing thin", worries PIPSC President Daviau.

“This is a problem that should already be mouldering in the grave,” said Jessica Squires, Chair of CAPE’s Mobilization Committee. “It’s unacceptable that there are public servants out there that are still not getting paid for the important work they perform on behalf of Canadians.”

PIPSC President Debi Daviau, PSAC President Robyn Benson and CAPE Mobilization Committee Chair Jessica Squires will address participants and will be available to the media to discuss the ongoing failure of the Phoenix pay system.

Event: Halloween Rally - Haunted by Phoenix!

Location: Elgin and Wellington (in front of the Prime Minister's Office)

Date: Monday, October 31st, 2016

Time: 12:00 pm (noon)

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For further information:
Pierre Lebel, Communications, CAPE, (613) 236-9181 (cell.) or (613) 889-1027,
plebel@acep-cape.ca
Alroy Fonseca, Communications, PSAC NCR, (613)262-3658
fonseca@psac.com
Johanne Fillion, PIPSC, (613) 228-6310 ext 4953 or (613) 883-4900 (cell.),
jfillion@pipsc.ca

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, August 4, 2016 - The union of public service professionals is offering help to students in the federal public service who are facing Phoenix pay problems.

"Students in the federal public service are some of the most vulnerable victims of the Phoenix pay problems," said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. "They often have student loans to deal with, little savings to tap into or lines of credit to rely on. Worse still, as non-unionized workers, they don't have much support in dealing with the impact of Phoenix pay problems."

The union will offer tips and advice on how to pursue a resolution to Phoenix cases. It will refer critical cases to the government for prioritized resolution.

Students facing Phoenix pay problems are invited to contact the union through a webform.

"At a time when the government should be attracting a new generation of professionals to the public service, this terrible experience with Phoenix is a problem," said Daviau. "We hope our initiative can alleviate some of the pain caused by Phoenix."

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.

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

For Immediate Release

OTTAWA, July 28, 2016 – PIPSC President Debi Daviau will attend the emergency committee meeting on Phoenix today on Parliament Hill at 2 p.m.

"Public service professionals expect to see a deadline for resolution of the Phoenix problem," said Daviau. "People are having a hard time making ends meet. They're going into debt. They can't pay their mortgages. Their credit rating is taking a hit. They need to know when they can put this problem behind them."

Daviau urges the committee to also seek answers to the following questions:

• Why is emergency pay not being processed faster?
• How did a so-called off the shelf product get approved without adequate testing?
• To what extent was the testing and implementation of this transition outsourced to IBM or other companies?
• Was there a contingency plan in place if Phoenix failed?

Daviau will be available for media interviews following the committee meeting.

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.