‘It’s like Russian roulette on payday,’ workers say
For two years, the Phoenix pay system has earned the wrath of Canada’s public servants.
It has left federal government employees mispaid, overpaid and unpaid — and despite the promises of those in power, the problems persist.
In the coming days, the Citizen will share stories of those feeling the impact of the Phoenix mess.
We will show how a broken pay system has affected the lives in ways big and small of workers who were long thought to have that most stable of employers: the government of Canada.
Jérôme Marty knows he’s luckier than some of his former federal colleagues.
The former biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada didn’t have to borrow money from friends or his bank. He wassn’t shortchanged on his paycheque.
Rather, he calculates, the federal government has paid him about $25,000 too much.
Marty’s problem? He can’t find a way to give the money back, reports Jacquie Miller.
How bad are things with Phoenix? Last month, the number of transactions in the queue at the pay centre in Miramichi, N.B., had reached an all-time high of 633,000.
Jacqueline Gillis-Pygiel, an official with the union local that representing Canadian Coast Guard radio operators, says the stress has accumulated for workers.
“It’s like Russian roulette on payday: ‘What am I getting? Am I getting paid more, am I getting paid less, am I getting paid properly?’ People are getting scared to open their bank account.”
Comedian Rick Mercer probably nailed the feeling of public servants across the nation with his assessment of the Phoenix computer and software system that issues their paycheques.
“As far as payroll systems go,” said Mercer in one of his popular TV rants, “it’s about as effective as a Grade 10 dropout with nine fingers and a serious buzz on.”
Mercer offered a rare note of levity in the discussion about Phoenix, the automated pay system that has become a sinkhole of woe for public servants.
As the second anniversary of the Phoenix rollout is marked this week, public servants interviewed by the Citizen offered their own descriptions.
Ludicrous. A boondoggle. A monster. A black hole. And a source of stress as they deal with the fallout of being underpaid, overpaid or unpaid.
Many can’t believe the government could so badly fail at the most basic responsibility of any employer. As Mercer acidly noted, “What has happened to us? We’re not talking about colonizing Mars here. This is a payroll system.”
Anyone who accepts a job, whether it’s at a hotdog stand or a high-tech company, has a simple expectation: You do the work and get paid in return.
Phoenix has broken that basic contract. The numbers are staggering: Half of Canada’s 300,000 public servants have been affected by problems with Phoenix. Many employees report multiple mistakes.
In the coming days, the Citizen will bring you some of their stories: A woman who didn’t get paid for several months after returning from maternity leave. A woman with depression and anxiety facing the added stress of paycheques that are not correct. A scientist who has been trying for more than a year to give back the $25,000 he was paid after leaving his government job.
There’s no end or simple solution in sight. The total number of complaints continues to rise. By late January, the number of transactions in the queue at the Phoenix pay centre in Miramichi, N.B., had reached an all-time high of 633,000.
The federal government is frantically hiring “compensation advisers,” offering a $4,000 signing bonus and higher overtime pay to those willing to do the job, and has
set up satellite offices to field calls and resolve complaints. Public Services Minister Carla Qualtrough has apologized, repeatedly, and promised that fixing Phoenix is a priority. She has suggested it will be the end of this year or early 2019 before Phoenix is “stabilized.”
Even those whose pay is intact have not been spared. Fear of Phoenix is widespread, according to union officials and public servants interviewed.
Some employees are reluctant to seek a transfer to another department, apply for a promotion or an acting position, or even file for overtime, since any changes to their pay could trigger a Phoenix malfunction.
“A lot of people like me are hunkering down,” says Sherry Oake, an engineer at the Department of National Defence who tests explosives. “You don’t want to do anything that would cause the system to look at your pay.
“I am not looking for any sort of promotion or change or lateral transfer at this time. It’s just not worth the hassle, the effort, the risk of having it messed up. Down at the work level, you pretty much have everyone in a state of paranoia, wondering what is going to happen next.”
Many public servants value the secure, stable workplace offered by the federal government, says Oake. They are shaken by the inability of the nation’s largest employer to pay its employees correctly. “They are feeling betrayed and not supported.”
Jacqueline Gillis-Pygiel, an official with the union local representing about 300 Coast Guard radio operators, says all her members have experienced problems.
“People are stressed,” she says. “It’s like Russian roulette on payday: ‘What am I getting? Am I getting paid more, am I getting paid less, am I getting paid properly?’ People are getting scared to open their bank account.
“This is two years into it. When is the end date?” she wonders. “When will people be able to say, ‘Yes, this is my payday and I know that I’m getting paid.’ Salaried employees are supposed to know they are getting paid every two weeks.
“This is your mortgage payment, this is your car payment, this is your children’s education money.”