Phoenix: No closer to clarity or resolution

The October 31 deadline has come and gone and Public Services and Procurement Canada has not only failed to clear the pre-July case backlog, they continue to refuse to disclose how many new cases have been opened since then.

A systemic failure of this size and scope was never going to be a quick fix. ACFO has tried to work proactively whenever possible to resolve the concerns of the FI Community and to connect affected FIs to the resources that have been set up to offer emergency assistance. We’ve met with senior leadership on the employer side to bring forward group-specific concerns and we’ve launched a policy grievance to protect the rights of the community.

But the unwillingness of the employer to even acknowledge the true scope and scale of the impact of Phoenix means none of us knows just how bad the damage is. More than a hundred members of the FI Community have contacted ACFO but we also know anecdotally that many, many more affected members haven’t.

In the absence of information from the employer we have launched the FI Community Phoenix Impact Study to try to get a sense of just how broad the effects of the broken payroll system really are. Beyond the direct impact of payroll issues, the study will also start to track the impact on worker mental health and work-life balance.

It is unfathomable that after this many months we’re still at this state. The lack of information from the employer is only serving to compound the impact of the payroll system debacle and it’s limiting our ability to serve our members’ needs.

We continue to encourage members who are not having their needs met by the Pay Centre to document their cases and contact us if necessary. We also encourage all FIs to complete the survey they received in their email inbox earlier today, even if they haven’t been affected.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Grant Boland (gboland@acfo-acaf.com).