Union calls for public inquiry into Phoenix pay ‘disaster’

Letter to Trudeau insists those responsible should be held accountable

OTTAWA — The head of Canada’s largest federal public service union is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to launch a full-scale public inquiry into the Phoenix pay-system debacle.

Tens of thousands of government workers have been paid incorrectly since the government switched to a new pay system in 2016, a decision that Auditor General Michael Ferguson lambasted in a recent report as an “incomprehensible failure” that exposed dysfunction in Ottawa’s bureaucratic culture.

Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which repre- sents 180,000 workers, called for the public inquiry Thursday night in a letter to Trudeau.

He wrote that the government failed to consult the union about the changes under Phoenix, and argued those responsible for managing the system need to be held accountable.

“There is an absolute requirement to find a way to expose and overturn this kind of damaging culture in the federal public service,” Aylward wrote. “We cannot let such a disaster repeat itself.”

Ashley Michnowski, spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough, did not say whether the government would consider an inquiry.

In an emailed statement, she blamed the previous Conservative government for “choosing a high-risk, cost-cutting route” for the Phoenix pay system, and said the government has a “clear path forward towards stabilization.”

While silent on the call for an inquiry, the government announced Friday that it will begin working with the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the second-largest government workers’ union, to develop a new pay system to replace Phoenix — a move that was promised with $16 million in funding in the 2018 budget.