House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 42% of the vote.
Public Services and Procurement December 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the public service pay problems are totally unacceptable. I know how unbearable the situation has been.
It is important that we do things properly. I assure my colleagues that we are working hard to fix the pay problems. Clearing up the backlog of cases is our priority.
Public Services and Procurement December 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the problems with the pay system are unacceptable. This government is doing a number of things to mitigate the problems, and we are focused clearly on improving the pay system. Resolving these cases is our top priority.
Public Services and Procurement December 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, there is no question that the ongoing pay problems are unacceptable, and our sole focus is on doing what we need to do to ensure that the people who have earned their salaries get every dollar of them.
We are working hard. We continue to do so. We have put a number of measures in place. Phoenix is our priority and that is what we will do.
Public Services and Procurement November 21st, 2016
Madam Speaker, it goes without saying that problems with the public service pay system are unacceptable.
Our priority is ensuring that employees are paid for the work they have done. We are working very hard every day to fix these problems and process employee pay transactions as quickly as possible.
Public Services and Procurement November 21st, 2016
Madam Speaker, I want to be very clear from the outset that the ongoing public service pay problems are completely unacceptable. I want to also assure the House that our government is as committed as ever to making sure that public servants are being paid for the work they do.
Every pay period, nearly 300,000 public servants from 101 departments and agencies receive more than $500 million in payments through the Phoenix payroll system. Representatives from our department are working hard to ensure that every employee is getting paid what they are owed.
Representatives from my department are working hard to ensure that every employee is getting paid what they are owed. Temporary satellite pay offices were set up this summer to help resolve the pay problems while allowing the ongoing processing of regular transactions. The system is being improved and efforts are being made to streamline the process and increase efficiency.
The steps our government is taking to make an impact in reducing the backlog and improving the system include the following.
For example, we were able to process approximately 100,000 transactions a month in September and October, compared to the 40,000 cases that were processed in May when employees were adjusting to the new system.
Compensation employees are working day and night, seven days a week, to clear the backlog and ensure that each and every Government of Canada employee is paid accurately.
Two weeks ago, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement went to Miramichi to thank the employees for their hard work. While she was there, she delivered a message that we would continue to support them and to keep all satellite offices open as long as needed.
To date, we have ensured that 64,000 employees have had their cases resolved. Currently, there are approximately 18,000 employees with some form of outstanding pay transactions remaining in the backlog.
Most new pay requests are expected to be processed within 20 days. However, we are only meeting our service standards 20% to 30% of the time. Because of this slowdown in processing, the number of transactions in the system has expanded so that we now have more than two months of additional work representing 200,000 transactions. We will progressively return to normal processing over the next few months.
The Government of Canada has established a reimbursement process that will ensure that employees who have received overpayments because of payroll problems are treated fairly. A number of repayment options will be made available to them that will take into account their needs and reduce the associated financial burden as much as possible.
The important thing to remember is that we are committed to helping every employee who is having pay problems. That is a priority for us, and we are taking this situation very seriously.
Questions on the Order Paper November 21st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the requested information is commercial in nature and has always been treated as confidential.
Public Service Commission November 21st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 23 of the Public Service Employment Act I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the Public Service Commission 2015-16 Annual Report.
Public Services and Procurement November 17th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, there is no question that public service pay problems are unacceptable. Our priority remains to ensure that employees get paid for the work that they have done.
We are all working hard to ensure we fix the issues and processes of all employee pay transactions as quickly as possible.
Public Services and Procurement November 17th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. opposition member for her interest in this matter.
I can assure the House that we on this side of the House are just as concerned as anyone else by the performance of the Government of Canada pay system. We want to assure the House that public servants are being paid for the work that they do.
Nearly 300,000 public servants from 101 departments and agencies receive more than $500 million in payments through the Phoenix payroll system for every pay period.
As we have already said, representatives from our department are working hard to ensure that every employee is getting paid what they are owed. Temporary satellite pay offices were set up this summer to help resolve the pay problems while allowing the ongoing processing of regular transactions. The system is being improved and efforts are being made to streamline processes and increase efficiency.
In addition, measures have been taken to ensure that employees and managers across the public service get the information and training they need to use the Phoenix system efficiently and effectively. Compensation employees are working day and night, seven days a week, to clear the backlog and ensure that each and every Government of Canada employee is paid accurately.
To date, we have ensured that 64,000 employees have had their cases resolved. However, because many employees have multiple transactions, there remains work to do.
Currently, there are approximately 18,000 employees with some form of outstanding pay transactions remaining in the backlog. Examples of these cases are terminations that involve multiple transactions and changes to pay as a result of acting assignments. They require a fair amount of research to ensure that we are capturing proper pay amounts from those periods.
Each month, the Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi receives a constant stream of new pay transactions to process.
As a result, the pay centre still has some 80,000 transactions in the processing queue. Usually, these transactions would be processed in accordance with the established service standards. However, right now, employees are waiting too long to be paid.
Most new pay requests are expected to be processed within 20 days, but we are only meeting our service standards 20% to 30% of the time. Because of this slowdown in processing, the number of transactions in the system has expanded, so that we now have more than two months of additional work, representing 200,000 transactions. We will progressively return to normal processing over the next few months.
We have said that there is no reason why any federal government employee should go without pay. Employees can request emergency salary advances through their own departments, and these payments can be issued within 24 to 48 hours. Anyone having difficulty receiving emergency pay should seek assistance through the online feedback form for Phoenix.
We are working hard to address these problems, and we will do just that.
Public Services and Procurement November 4th, 2016
Also, Mr. Speaker, pursuant to section 84 of the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act annual report.