CANADA
The annual employee survey by the Canadian Federal Government has found that 72 per cent of Public Servants have been affected by problems with the botched Phoenix pay system.
The survey canvassed more than 180,000 Public Servants last year on a wide range of subjects, including job satisfaction, management, harassment, discrimination, stress and pay problems.
Only 25 per cent of respondents reported being unaffected by issues with the Phoenix pay system; another 32 per cent said they were affected to a small extent.
A significant majority (59 per cent) said they had experienced a new Phoenix-related issue during the previous year, while 56 per cent said they still had unresolved pay problems.
The 2019 Public Service Employee Survey also found that 51 per cent of respondents said that concerns about Phoenix-related problems affected their decisions to change jobs within the Public Service and 74 per cent cited pay-related issues as a continuing source of stress.
National President of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Chris Aylward said the survey results were staggering.
“Federal Public Service workers have been paying for the Government’s mistakes for years, and it’s time for our Government to start paying them back,” Mr Aylward said.
He called on the Government to hire more staff to reduce the number of new Phoenix-related pay issues and to eliminate the 209,000-case backlog.
He also demanded that the Government set aside its “meagre” Phoenix damages offer — five days of paid leave — and offer an equal cash settlement to workers.
The survey found that despite their pay problems, Federal Public Servants were generally content with their jobs.
The vast majority (81 per cent) said they liked their jobs, while a slightly smaller number (76 per cent) said they drew a sense of satisfaction from their work and felt valued (68 per cent) in the workplace.
The Federal Public Service has 273,000 employees, about 41 per cent of whom work in the National Capital Region.
Ottawa, 15 January 2020
