NDP candidates vow they’ll clean up Phoenix pay issues
“This would not be tolerated in the private sector”: Ottawa Centre’s Taman
Three local NDP candidates gathered at the Tunney’s Pasture government complex Tuesday morning to highlight their plan, if elected, to remedy the problems caused by the Phoenix pay system.
“This would not be tolerated in the private sector, and it’s not good enough to just keep saying that we’re working on it,” Ottawa Centre NDP candidate Emilie Taman said.
While the New Democrats’ goal is replacing Phoenix with a new, functional pay system, the candidates stressed the need to first clear the backlog of outstanding pay issues.
“I’ve talked to people that without warning ... they’ve not changed jobs, they’ve not done anything, and their paycheques are suddenly $500 less,” said Angella MacEwen, the NDP candidate in Ottawa West—Nepean. “They’re on a list to call the call centre in Miramichi and they’re waiting and they don’t know when the problems are going to get resolved. So this causes a huge amount of stress in people’s lives.”
According to the federal government’s website, the backlog of financial transactions at the public service pay centre was 228,000 as of Aug. 21 — down from a peak of 384,000 in January 2018. Still, it was estimated in August that more than half of public servants were experiencing some form of pay issue.
The NDP wants to bring compensation advisers into the departments where people with pay issues are working, Taman said, and allow for face-to-face problem solving.
“Employees can sit down and have their pay essentially audited, and if they need to have their compensation written on a manual cheque, then that should be what’s happening.”
The New Democratic platform also promises “fair compensation” for workers impacted by Phoenix.
While other federal public service unions and the government have reached a settlement on Phoenix damages, the Public Service Alliance of Canada rejected the remedy on offer: up to five days of leave, and the potential for additional compensation on a case-bycase basis. PSAC, the largest federal public service union, wants a
"They’re waiting and they don’t know when the problems are going to get resolved.
cash settlement it deems sufficient for its members.
Morgan Gay, the NDP candidate in Ottawa South and a negotiator with PSAC, said he supports “110 per cent” what the union has asked for on Phoenix damages.
“People have lost their homes. People have had to ask for bankruptcy, and they’re getting nickel-and-dimed by the government,” he said.