Serious pay issues? Need a fast fix?
Call DM Lemay, say public servants
Federal civil servants suffering extreme financial difficulties under the government’s Phoenix pay system – and some not so extreme – have been turning to the top for help, and with some success.
Public Services and Procurement Canada, which oversees the problem-plagued system, say about 1,000 government employees have reached out directly to the department’s deputy minister, Marie Lemay, over the last 12 months.
The department is dismissing the notion that requests from Lemay to fix certain pay issues have resulted in front-ofthe-line treatment for some employees.
It says problem pay files are prioritized based on financial hardship, not on who makes the request for help.
But some workers have reported having their pay issues resolved within a couple of weeks of contacting Lemay, while others say their more complicated files have taken a little longer to resolve – but that Deputy Minister of Public Works and Government Services Marie Lemay listens to a question during a technical briefing on the Phoenix pay system in Ottawa. their pleas were heard.
A closed Facebook group dedicated to helping civil servants deal with their pay problems is filled with comments from government workers who say they got results after contacting Lemay when they got nothing but frustration from the pay centre in Miramichi, N.B., or their local member of Parliament.
Dozens of posts also contain the direct email address and office phone number for Lemay, who has until recently been the public face of government efforts to fix Phoenix.