Message to Government of Canada employees regarding pay

July 8, 2016

Last week, we promoted a feedback form on our website and asked all employees to use it to report pay issues. We were concerned that employees were unable to report problems through our Pay Centre in Miramichi because of high call volumes and long wait times.

As of Monday this week, 1,710 employees had reported issues through the feedback form, and work is underway to analyze these and provide help as quickly as possible.

We also asked all employees in need of salary support to contact their department or complete the feedback form. Of the submissions received, 52 were requests for emergency salary advances to cover missing pay. These requests were sent to chief financial officers of the responsible departments for immediate action. Any other requests we receive will continue to be sent to the appropriate department or agency on a daily basis.

With input received through the feedback form and other channels, including the Pay Centre, we now have a more detailed picture of pay issues. This means we can better assess causes and work more quickly towards solutions.

One of the major challenges we are facing is a backlog of requests for pay, such as overtime or acting. This backlog is being addressed by our temporary pay unit in Gatineau. There are currently 41 employees working in the unit, and another 34 are joining in the coming weeks. Our plan remains to have 100 staff members working in the unit as quickly as possible. The schedule to eliminate the backlog is being finalized and will be shared shortly to provide timelines for when requests will be completed.

We are also seeing that pay requests may not be moving smoothly through the approval process. For example, before extra duty pay is deposited into your bank account, several steps must take place. Both your manager and finance department must give their approval before payment is granted. Employees and managers should review their roles and responsibilities related to Phoenix to ensure that approvals are granted in a timely way.

In closing, let me assure you that we are working very hard to resolve pay issues as quickly as possible. We understand that this situation is challenging and frustrating, and we are committed to ensuring that all public servants are paid promptly and properly. Progress is underway, and we will continue to provide regular updates.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding.

Marie Lemay, P.Eng., ing.
Deputy Minister
Public Services and Procurement Canada