Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good day to all of you.
Compensation is near and dear to many sectors of the public service. At the very least, it is a subject dear to many people who work in the Outaouais region. As you probably know, I met with Minister Fortier last March. With him was an employee who explained the situation. Every time Mr. Fortier has met with the committee since then, he has updated us on the situation, however briefly. The fact remains that he has reported some progress on this front.
My aim is to try and improve matters. We know, and you know, that there is a problem. It is unfortunate for those who are experiencing it first hand. I have a file containing the names of 29 public sector employees who are still waiting to be compensated for overtime worked. The delays are primarily with Public Works and Government Services Canada. I read Mr. Nantel's most recent report, which you may be familiar with. I met Mr. Nantel when I met with the Minister. I would like to read you an excerpt from the report, because I would like to get your comments:
Every month, new problems arise as a result of the lack of experience of new trainees at the compensation centre. At least our directors have now decided to meet to discuss the problem and they have contacted us to ask that we send them the documents required to proceed with compensation actions. The biggest problem encountered is the misplacing of documents and overtime cheques. If these two problems could be resolved, this would prevent many new ones from cropping up. Compensation services are not alone in not keeping up. Human Resources are also experiencing problems.
We'll stick with compensation services for the moment. Problems in this area were mentioned. The report dates back to November 19 last. While I would like to hear your comments on this subject, I do have two other questions for you as well. I hope you can give us an update on your area of responsibility.
We have also heard about union-related issues. We heard how 15 or 20 years ago, dealing with pay issues was like a walk in the park. Everyone was familiar with how things worked and things managed to get done. Over time, there have been cutbacks, restructuring and so forth. Employees have a great deal more work on their plates. Consequently, after they receive their training, employees realize that they could work elsewhere in the federal public service and earn a similar salary, for doing work that is far less complex. Moreover, employee turnover has been quite high. Employees apply for a position elsewhere in the public service where working conditions are better. The union regularly brings cases like this to our attention.
Regarding issues of this nature and restructuring, have you anything new to report to us, so that I can go back to these individuals, share the tenure of our discussions with them and report back on possible solutions to the problem? I am prepared to listen to what you have to say.