In January 2018, when the Phoenix pay system was almost two years old, the federal government estimated that 384,000 financial transactions exceeded the pay center’s normal workload in Miramichi, New Brunswick.
What is a financial movement?
Financial movements are records related to salaries, such as amounts owed or overpaid to officials. They may also be linked to changes in employees’ employment status, such as maternity leave or promotions.
Their number had fallen below 100,000 in 2021. Since then, it has gradually increased, reaching 209,000 in April 2023.
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Employee transfers as the core of the problem?
“It’s very sad that we’re still talking about it today, seven years after the Phoenix Pay System was introduced,” said Bruce Roy, President of the Government Services Union.
In his opinion, this upturn is due to a lack of resources and changes in the composition of many compensation specialists.
“Over the past two years, government decisions to recover overpayment funds due to mistakes made in 2016 have resulted in some of our top compensation consultants being reassigned to those fund recoveries,” he says.
Bruce Roy, the president of the Government Services Union, has little hope that the government will solve civil servants’ wage problems.
Photo: Radio Canada
According to the union, which is affiliated with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), about 1,000 more employees would be needed to reverse the trend, without whom the lives of the affected officials will continue to be characterized by agony and difficult decisions.
“We are reluctant to accept promotions, take maternity or parental leave. It’s a very sad situation. »
– A quote from Bruce Roy, President of the Government Services Union
Outstanding $82,000
Such is the case of Gatineau officer Manon Bertrand, who has been struggling for more than a year and a half to collect an amount of $82,000 she is allegedly owed by her employer.
Since suffering a life-changing stroke in November 2015, the former compensation specialist has been completely dependent on long-term disability insurance. But in 2021 she found out that she was fired…since 2016.
Manon Bertrand began her public service career in the early 2000s as a compensation consultant.
Photo: Radio Canada / Emilien Juteau
He is then promised a starting advantage. If the federal government acknowledges that it owes him $70,000, Manon Bertrand instead estimates the shortfall at $82,000. Due to the many delays in the system, there is no telling when she will get it.
If it was only $200 or $500, it wouldn’t be worth it, she says. But we’re talking several thousand dollars here.
accuracy
An earlier version of this text indicated that official Manon Bertrand is awaiting a $12,000 payment from the federal government. That amount is closer to $82,000.
Ottawa adds resources
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) recognizes that the backlog has been increasing since 2021 due to the steady and significant increase in the number of transactions the pay center receives.
“This increase, coupled with the great complexity of the files to be processed, has limited our ability to reduce the total number of pending movements,” said Alexandre Baillairgé-Charbonneau, Spokesman for Public Services and Procurement in Canada.
In addition, PSPC ensures that the speed of file processing is accelerated. In 2022, compensation specialists processed 138,000 more movements than in 2021, according to the ministry.
“In the first four months of 2023, we processed 65,000 more movements than in the same period last year. »
– A quote from Alexandre Baillairgé-Charbonneau, spokesman for Public Services and Procurement Canada
Contrary to what the Government Services Union says, Ottawa claims the problem isn’t related to employee transfers and that less than 5% of compensation consultants at the pay center are dedicated to the task of collecting overpayments.
The government adds that since November 2021, the pay center has hired several hundred more payroll officers and support staff. Approximately 175 additional compensation consultants are also expected to be hired by September 2023.
After a lull, the number of late transactions has risen to the worrying levels of 2019. Officials suffering the consequences confided in Patrick Foucault.
I do not know what to do
Since the news of her release, Manon Bertrand has felt powerless. She continues the process to try to speed up her file but to no avail. After several calls to the office of her MP, Liberal Greg Fergus, she said she had not received a satisfactory update.
“It’s not because I don’t try,” she laments. It’s discouraging because there’s no light at the end of the tunnel.
” I’m not the only one. There are a lot of people like that. »
— A quote from Manon Bertrand
“That’s a problem for me as an MP,” replies Greg Fergus, who regrets that many civil servants still struggle to get paid.
Federal Liberal MP Greg Fergus (file photo)
Photo: Radio Canada / Mathieu Gohier
The MP believes elected officials have a role to play, but recognizes that the complexity of the situation limits his room for manoeuvre.
There are several classifications in the Canadian civil service, he says. When people change jobs or have problems with Phoenix, it’s difficult to fix those problems. It requires a lot of work.
Given this situation, Manon Bertrand wants to make one thing clear: she blames the system, not the employees. The system has to change. If the system doesn’t change, it won’t get better.