The following op-ed by PSAC National President Chris Aylward was published by iPolitics and other outlets on February 28, 2024.

Eight years since the launch of the disastrous Phoenix pay system, the debacle continues to cast a long shadow over the lives of tens of thousands of federal workers across Canada. The promise of a reliable payroll system for Canada’s largest employer has long since devolved into a protracted saga of financial uncertainty, anxiety and distress for those caught in its wake. 

Since the pay system was launched in 2016, there hasn’t been a single pay period without major errors for federal workers.  

Despite promises made by the federal government to ‘fix Phoenix’, eight years later, the typical waiting period for any pay-related problems has ballooned to two years. There are now more than 444,000 pay problems in the Phoenix case backlog – growing year over year since 2021 –leading to more frustration and hardship for workers.  

Today, there’s still no end in sight to the frustration and anxiety Phoenix continues to cause. There are more than 56,000 cases from retirees and former employees waiting two or more years for their pay files to be closed. More than 16,000 files from workers who’ve changed jobs or departments who still aren’t getting their correct pay. Hundreds of thousands more cases from workers who didn’t start getting paid when they returned from maternity or disability leave, or who are waiting for their new rates of pay, retroactive payments or other money owed to them. 

Each pay period brings uncertainty, with many fearing to make basic decisions like taking opportunities to advance their careers or finally take their retirement – all to avoid the potential repercussions. Decisions that should be positive milestones, are now tainted by the spectre of Phoenix for the simple reason that they involve a change in pay – something that can no longer be done without the significant chance that you will end up in a long spiral of pay problems that will take years of waiting and countless hours to fix. 

To add insult to injury, after admitting the next potential fix for Phoenix is still years away, the government has diverted the only real solution to current pay problems – compensation staff – away from tackling the enormous backlog of pay issues. Instead, they’ve begun an aggressive claw back of overpayments from tens of thousands of workers because the government’s ability to have that money paid back expires after six years, dating back to when Phoenix launched in 2016. Now on top of pay problems, workers are getting letters asking them to pay back money that can’t even prove they received at all – for Phoenix pay errors that were not even their fault to begin with. 

In 2019 and 2020, federal unions secured Phoenix damages settlements to compensate for the pain and suffering caused between by Phoenix between 2016 and 2020. However, four years later, the ordeal is far from over. Workers continue to endure endless pay issues, each paycheque a reminder of the government’s unfulfilled promise. 

While the government has begun testing the next potential replacement for Phoenix, the launch of any new pay system is still years away, and far from guaranteed to be successful if history has taught us anything.  

Enough is enough.  

This week, Canada’s largest unions, representing more than 260,000 federal public service workers, have formally demanded the government begin negotiations for additional Phoenix damages to cover the ongoing hardships for workers from 2020 to today and beyond. Workers deserve to be compensated until the pay system is fixed, and they are paid correctly and on time, every time. 

This is not just about fixing pay problems; it's about making workers whole again and restoring faith in our government's ability to fulfill its most fundamental responsibilities to its employees.  

Last week, we won a major victory for workers impacted by Phoenix, ensuring the damages they’ve already received for their pain and suffering would be tax-free. [LINK] 

Now, we’ll continue to hold this government accountable – to provide additional damages for the ongoing pay fiasco, hire more compensation workers to eliminate the backlog of pay issues and stabilize the pay system, halt the recovery of overpayments, and push for a national inquiry into Phoenix so that a similar disaster can never be repeated. 

It’s unfathomable that after eight years, the Phoenix pay system remains an abject failure by our government to deliver the most basic right of workers: to be paid accurately and on time.