This morning, over 500 PSAC members rallied and blocked entry into two major federal government buildings in Ottawa as they expressed their mounting frustrations with Phoenix and urged the Trudeau government for more action.

“We have told this government that if they do not make more progress in paying our members correctly, and compensate them for the massive impacts of this disaster, that we would escalate our actions. That’s why we’re here today.” said PSAC President Chris Aylward.

“Federal Public Service workers have been showing up to work every day, delivering the services Canadians rely on, despite the mess Phoenix has created in their lives. Our members have been paying for the government’s mistakes for years. It’s time for the government to start paying them back.”

The union is calling on the government to remedy the situation by:

• Paying damages to all public service workers for the great financial and emotional hardship they have endured
• Providing the additional staffing and training needed to:
  • assist members at the Client Contact Centre and the Public Service Pay Centre;
  • reduce Phoenix cases by ensuring HR data is entered on time;
  • eliminate the backlog of Phoenix cases, including implementing collective agreements and delivering retroactive pay
• Delivering a clear and accountable timeline to stabilize Phoenix, eliminate the backlog, and transition to a new pay system

Damning figures from the recent Public Service Employee Survey provided overwhelming support for the union’s demands.

“To add insult to injury, while our members continue to wait to be paid correct, this government has also delayed delivering a fair deal for over 100,000 PSAC members at the bargaining table. We won’t allow this government to keep taking our members for granted.”