By Ian Holmes

Hundreds of Nanaimo workers still dogged by flawed Phoenix payroll system

Aug 22, 2018 | 5:15 PM

NANAIMO — While progress appears to be made to reverse damage caused by the federal government’s disastrous payroll system, the impact is still hitting Nanaimo workers hard.

Roughly 150 people attended a noon-hour march to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre Tuesday where the Trudeau Liberals are in the midst of a three-day cabinet meeting. An estimated 520 federal employees in the Nanaimo region are impacted by the government’s flawed payroll system, according to the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Vanessa Miller, an employment insurance officer at the Service Canada office on Front St. was forced to lean on her parents for cash when she wasn’t paid for six weeks after going on maternity leave in June.

“It was embarrassing, I’m fortunate that my parents were able to help us, but it was definitely a moment of having to swallow my pride,” Miller said. “It was a low point in my life.”

Miller, 33, a first-time mother of a seven-week old daughter, said the problems with the Phoenix software is primarily triggered by a change in pay rate, or going on medical or maternity leave. She said the stress caused by the program caused a lot of anxiety.

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“We were in the biggest transition period of our lives and needing to worry about how we were going to pay our mortgage, it was really tough,” a visibly frustrated Miller said.

On top of not getting paid for most of the summer, Miller said she missed six pay cheques last year and was underpaid on several others. She also had benefit deductions.

Johanna Jenkins, a Department of Fisheries and Oceans employee at the Nanaimo Service Canada office, said thankfully she has been repaid most of the estimated $12,000 she was owed.

“I truly believe it has only gotten better because I’ve cried out, you have to cry very, very high up the chain. The actual reporting chain simply doesn’t work.”

Jenkins was vocal to NanaimoNewsNOW about her plight during a late February rally in Nanaimo marking the two-year anniversary of the Phoenix pay system roll out.

She said almost all of the dozen co-workers in her office are owed at least $6,000.

The federal government announced in February it committed $16-million over two years to replace the system, while more staff were pledged to fix pay related problems.

PSAC national president Chris Alyward said while ditching Phoenix is encouraging, it’s inexcusable errors are still being made two-and-a-half years later.

“As much as we are moving toward a new pay system, pay day after pay day we’re still having members affected by Phoenix, either being overpaid, underpaid or not paid at all.”

Alyward said their union is negotiating financial compensation for the emotional damage caused by the payroll system.

PSAC estimated more than 200,000 federal employees have dealt with paycheque irregularities due to Phoenix, a program operated by IBM Canada and initiated by the previous Conservative government.

NanaimoNewsNOW has requested an interview with Carla Qualtrough, the federal minister responsible, who is in Nanaimo for the government’s cabinet retreat.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes