ABOUT THE PHOENIX PAY DISASTER

In June 2011, the Harper government contracted IBM to develop a new payroll system for the federal government. By the time the project was passed onto Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, it was already clear Phoenix was plagued with problems. Despite PSAC and other unions sounding the alarm, Trudeau's government went ahead and launched the pay system in 2016.

Since then, over 200,000 federal public service workers and their families have been impacted by Phoenix. Some have not been paid properly, others have gone unpaid for months at a time. Many have experienced debt, loss, bankruptcy—even homelessness. It’s not right, and it’s still going on.

As work to stabilize Phoenix continues, PSAC members are still suffering its fallout. Endless payroll problems place a heavy burden on families. Because of Phoenix, many workers have endured the pain of being unable to provide for their loved ones. Our job is to support our members and to get them the help they need.