The uncertainty around the erratic Phoenix pay system has been pushed into the middle of 2019 for thousands of public servants who don’t know whether they have been paid the raises and back pay owed to them. 

Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) President Robyn Benson said the union was advised that the federal government won’t know whether more than 75,200 public servants covered by its largest contract have even been paid properly before June 30, 2019. 

The contract for the giant program administration group was negotiated in late 2016; signed last June and had a November deadline for implementation.  That contract goes back to 2014 and affects nearly 111,000 people. 

Benson said she was ‘stunned’ to learn the government needs that long to even validate whether nearly 70 per cent of the people owed money under that contract were paid correctly or not.  She said Phoenix hasn’t even tried to implement the contract for another 1,400 people. 

“Seriously?  What they are saying… is maybe it’s been done, but we can’t tell.  Public service workers might owe us, we might owe then but we won’t know until June 2019,’” said Benson. 

“The bottom line is that it is outrageous that they can’t be finished the validation until next June.” 

The government offered the June 2019 deadline after it was ordered by Federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board to provide an update on when the contract would be implemented. 

The board earlier ruled in February the government breached its legal obligations when it failed to implement new contracts for 100,000 employees – under four contracts — represented by PSAC within the 150-day deadline. 

The board issued an order asking the government to confirm, by April 20, whether the large program administration contract was implemented and, if so, the date of implementation.  If not implemented, the board wanted to know how many people had yet to receive what they are owed. 

The contract goes back four years so it includes workers who may have since retired, left government or been promoted.  Of the nearly 111,000 people affected by the contract, about 72,100 were classified as program administrators as of March 2017. 

Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the government’s pay master, tried to implement the agreement for all workers affected, but Phoenix flagged 75,285 of them for “additional review.”  Benson said PSPC doesn’t know if “they are right or wrong and it will take until June 2019 to figure out.” 

Benson said the government told the labour board some may have been underpaid, but it expects the review will indicate most people were paid properly and are not owed more money.  Some, however, may have received overpayments. 

It’s the latest in the unions’ frustrations to pin the government down on when Phoenix will be fixed with public servants paid correctly and on time. 

PSPC Minister Carla Qualtrough earlier indicated by the end of the year.  Other senior officials, including Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick in his annual report this week, have indicated the timeline is unclear. 

PSAC filed its complaints with the labour board after PSPC missed the November deadline to implement four contracts. 

The labour board’s ruling that the government breached its legal obligations was seen by unions as a first step towards negotiating damages for the delay in implementing the four contracts — retroactive to 2014. 

The unions are seeking damages on two fronts.  They are in discussions with Treasury Board for overall damages for to compensate the pain and suffering of employees caused by Phoenix foul-ups. 

On a separate track, they are filing complaints and grievances with the labour board seeking damages for the delays in implementing collective agreements and getting the raises and retroactive payments out to employees by the legal deadlines. 

Other unions have also filed complaints with the labour board and are seeking damages. 

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) filed policy grievances against Treasury Board for failing to implement new collective agreements within the promised deadlines and wants employees compensated for all “losses, financial or otherwise,” resulting from breaching the agreements. 

The government is legally bound to pay people properly under the Financial Administration Act and the directive on terms and conditions of employment. 

The government also has fully acknowledged its obligation to pay employees and has repeatedly apologized for the errors and hardships caused by the troubled pay system.  Phoenix was plagued with problems and backlogs since its initial rollout but collective agreements, especially retroactive payments, unexpectedly snarled the system. 

Benson said this delay reinforces the need for the government to keep hiring more compensation and human resource staff to tackle the massive backlog. 

“This is completely unacceptable.  PSAC will continue to fight to ensure that the employer compensates our members for the delay in receiving the money they are owed,” said Benson.