PSAC workers upset over pay problems protest in Brandon

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This article was published 01/03/2018 (2782 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local civil servants joined a national day of protest against the failed Phoenix pay system by picketing outside MP Larry Maguire’s office on 10th Street on Wednesday.

Their selection of Maguire’s office was intended to send a clear message to the elected official that local constituents were impacted by the boondoggle and want him to raise their voice in the House of Commons.

So described Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Northwest Manitoba representative Michael Weisgerber outside Maguire’s office, where a couple dozen people gathered in protest.

Prior to Wednesday’s gathering, the Conservative member of Parliament affirmed his support for the protesters’ cause, clarifying that he’s also disappointed in the Liberals’ inaction on the fixing the Phoenix pay system, which they were also responsible for introducing.

Although the government announced plans to replace the failing pay system earlier this week, Maguire said the Liberals offered a number of deadlines to fix it in the past, and failed to meet any of them.

Wednesday’s day of action marked two years since the Phoenix pay system rolled out across Canada; a shift that launched payroll problems throughout the nation ever since.

Although the program has made more national headlines than it has local, Westman federal employees have joined those across the nation in being affected.

Local PSAC member Stephen Gainsborough said that in addition to not getting paid on time on a few occasions, his union-negotiated back pay of approximately $13,000 did not come in November like it was supposed to.

“It’s quite a large sum of money,” he said, adding that despite how hard it’s impacted him, there are others worse off than him.

While some federal employees were underpaid, others were overpaid.

Although this sounds good on paper, Glen Johnston, a PSAC member, said that it doesn’t shake out as a positive in the end.

Still uncertain as to how much he’s been over-paid, Johnston said that he’s concerned about his ability to not only pay back the money, but to cover the financial hit to his bottom line.

The federal government is expecting the full amount, he said, explaining that although a portion of this pay would have gone toward taxes, he’ll be nonetheless expected to pay back the full amount he was overpaid.

Fellow protester Nathan Buhler said that although he’s frustrated to have not received the retroactive pay he’s entitled to, his main frustration is the federal government’s delayed action on the Phoenix pay system, which has been going off the rails for two years.

“From a business standpoint, there is no private sector that would allow Phoenix to be utilized for as long as it has,” he said, adding; “Any sensible company would have trashed it long ago in favour of a usable program.”

Although Brandon School Division teachers are not federal employees and were therefore not impacted by the Phoenix pay system, a small delegation showed up to join in the day’s protest.

“We’re supporting our sisters and brothers,” Brandon Teachers’ Association president Peter Buehler said.

Although the federal government plans to move away from the Phoenix pay system, it’s “too little too late,” PSAC president Robyn Benson told The Canadian Press.

The budget allocates an additional $431 million over six years to address problems created by Phoenix, plus the $16 million to begin the process of finding a replacement, on top of the $460 million already committed to both implement the pay system and resolve subsequent problems.

And the Canada Revenue Agency will get $5.5 million to conduct income tax reassessments for individuals affected by Phoenix.

But the costs are likely to escalate under a government pledge to also work with unions on compensating employees for mental and emotional stress caused by the Phoenix foulups.

The opposition New Democrats had introduced a motion calling on the government to both compensate and apologize to civil servants, but that motion was defeated Wednesday in the Commons by a margin of 159-135.

When it was approved in 2015 by the previous Conservative government, officials said the Phoenix pay system would save taxpayers about $70 million annually by streamlining and consolidating pay systems across dozens of departments and agencies.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB