CFIA

For several years, the Phoenix payroll system has been incorrectly collecting membership dues from nearly 150,000 members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. Thousands of federal public service workers have been overpaying or underpaying union dues. Last month, several government departments sent letters informing PSAC members that the government will finally be in a position to fix these Phoenix errors. PSAC members will see the correct dues amount on their November 14th paycheque.

PSAC members working at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency held a Bargaining Conference in the National Capital Region on October 2-4, 2018, in a preparation of a new round of bargaining. The current four-year collective agreement with the CFIA will expire at the end of December 2018.

After lengthy negotiations and an arbitration process, PSAC has won a major victory for the Public Service Dental Care Plan, which will result in substantial improvements for your coverage. “The government dragged this process out by trying to get us to accept reduced coverage for our members,” said Chris Aylward, National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. “But our position has always been that our members deserve better, and I’m very pleased that the arbitration panel agreed with us.”

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is launching a national television ad campaign to highlight the dedication of public service workers throughout the Phoenix pay system disaster, which has now been going on for two and a half years. Despite missed paycheques, fending off debt collectors, and managing endless uncertainty, PSAC members have continued to be here for Canada.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) is issuing a call-out for equity group members to attend the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) National Bargaining Conference. PSAC equity activists (Indigenous Peoples, racialized workers, LGBTQ2+ members, and members with disabilities), Regional Women's Committee (RWC) members, and young worker activists (35 years old or younger) are encouraged to apply.

PSAC will be offering webinars for members who volunteered to be Pay Advocates on how to address common problems with Phoenix. Participants will explore the steps to take when handling pay problems that occur due to transfer of positions or overtime. They will also explore the claims process when employees are seeking reimbursements for costs incurred due to Phoenix errors, such as paying interest on loans.

The Auditor General’s second report on Phoenix is a scathing indictment of both the current Liberal and former Conservative governments. It provides further evidence that government was negligent in both the development and implementation of the new pay system.

Two surveys conducted by the Canadian government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), respectively, confirm that federal public service workers have suffered a number of significant hardships that should be remedied through damages.

As many as one in three PSAC members affected by Phoenix have incurred out-of-pocket expenses. When the Phoenix nightmare began, one of the first things PSAC did was secure a claims process for expenses incurred because of inaccurate pay. We encourage our members to claim these expenses.