(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Corrections

Union says 8-year-old Phoenix pay system still full of glitches and affecting families

Mar 18, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The union that represents federal correctional officers says ongoing issues with the Phoenix payroll system are affecting members’ ability to pay bills and mortgages.

The Phoenix pay system was launched in 2016 and its purpose was to consolidate dozens of separate and antiquated pay systems. The goal was to save the government millions annually, but instead resulted in massive upheaval and backlogs.

“Our membership performs one of the most dangerous occupations within the core public administration, and when paychecks go missing or certain premiums are not paid, it has a demoralizing effect on those members who are sacrificing themselves each day in our workplaces,” the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO) said in a statement.

“Just like any worker in Canada, our members have mortgages or rent to pay as well as bills, and they fear any glitch in the system that may result in these responsibilities not being met.”

When paNOW reached to local members for comment, one man replied he does not have issues anymore, but at one point owed $10,000 in unpaid bills. Another woman stated she recently received payment for hours she worked last March.

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Randy Hoback is the Member of Parliament for the Prince Albert riding and a statement from his office confirmed they are still receiving calls on Phoenix.

“The Liberals should have never fully implemented the Phoenix pilot project into the Government of Canada payroll. They were warned not to. They chose to anyway,” the statement said.

According to numbers released last month by the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the number of unresolved problems has piled up to 444,000, and the standard waiting period for payroll problems to be addressed is two years.

To receive answers from the government, paNOW was forwarded to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and through a statement, they confirmed a payment can be delayed or perceived as delayed for a number of different reasons.

“For overtime payments in particular, reasons could include payment in arrears, transactions not submitted in a timely manner by the employee or manager, or delays within the Pay Centre,” a statement from PSPC said.

And while confirming there are still outstanding transactions over a year old, the government department explained the Pay Centre, which is responsible for processing pay for more than 280,000 public servants, has made significant improvements.

“We have reduced the number of outstanding transactions, while also managing the increasing number of new transactions we receive every month.”

When asked to identify what specific changes have been made to correct the system, the government department explained since 2016, they have put in place over 3,000 system enhancements and fixes, which have helped bring increased stability to the pay system and overall pay administration environment.

“In addition, the Pay Centre has on boarded approximately 1,000 new compensation employees since September 2022 to increase the number of transactions we process every month,” the statement said, adding these investments are paying off as the number of transactions processed each month has been increasing.

“For example, in 2023, we processed 247,000 more transactions than in 2022 — an increase of 21 per cent.”

This winter, PSPC began exploring ways of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the pay operations.

They explained AI has the potential to increase the number of transactions a compensation agent can process by providing real time, step-by-step guidance, answering questions and making calculations based on information in collective agreements or government HR policies.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell

— with files from the Canadian Press