HomePhoenix pay system issues making it impossible to track hiring of veterans in public service
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Phoenix pay system issues making it impossible to track hiring of veterans in public service
by Trooper Fri 24 Nov 2017, 6:38 pm
Vets with PTSD working in federal public service not being paid because of Phoenix: Union
By David McKie --- CBC News --- Posted: Nov 24, 2017
Veterans salute during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Montreal, earlier this year. An internal government document indicates that the federal government is unable to track how many veterans are working in the public service.
Problems with the federal government's Phoenix pay system are making it impossible for a program designed to facilitate the integration of veterans in the federal public service to collect hiring statistics.
The finding is contained in a document from Veterans Affairs Canada that CBC News has obtained through the Access to Information Act.
The Dec. 2016 report entitled Veteran Appointments to the Federal Public Service, warns that "...new coding and data formatting has negatively impacted the ability to collect hiring data…It is anticipated that these numbers will be available in January 2017."
That deadline came and went. There is still no data, and without it, it's become impossible to find out how well the program is working.
This has become a problem for Alex Grant, a 30-year navy veteran who is in charge of a new program within Veterans Affairs called the Veterans in the Public Service unit.
Though he stresses that the absence of statistics has no effect on the program's ability to promote the hiring of veterans within the federal civil service, he concedes that the Phoenix problems are making his life difficult.
"In my tactical world…I want to know whether I'm having a positive impact… And I would obviously like to see an uptick in…hires so I can validate my business model."
'Scary for veterans'
The Veterans Affairs internal document explains that hiring data comes from the government's pay system, which means that the Public Service Commission, the federal agency responsible for collecting these statistics, has no data to work with.
The problem affects veterans who are given so-called preferential treatment under the Veterans Hiring Act, which came into force July 1, 2015. The act includes two groups: veterans who are given priority treatment because they have been released due to medical conditions such as PTSD. And veterans who are given a favourable, but lower status on the hiring scale. Members in this group have retired under more normal circumstances, or who are still in the force and thinking about switching careers.
The Phoenix pay system problem affects the veterans who fall in this second group.
"I most certainly have heard of this problem," Carl Gannon, National President of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees, told CBC News "And it's a very real problem. It's really scary for veterans who are trying to go through the system."
Haven't 'heard' anything
The Public Service Commission's Tanya Perlman says she hopes to have the statistics available "in the New Year."
However, Gannon, whose union is an outspoken critic of the pay system, said he doesn't see the problems being fixed "anytime soon."
He said the Phoenix problem is also having another effect. It's causing a lot of stress for veterans working for departments such as Veterans Affairs and National Defence — the two departments that hire the most vets — who don't know if they're getting paid this month, or the next.
"We're talking about people not getting their paycheques. They're coming to work…and sometimes going a month, two months without getting paid. That's hard to deal with if you have PTSD…It's a catastrophic situation."
A statement from Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan's office sent to CBC by email said "Veterans Affairs has not heard that any Veterans have quit because of Phoenix."
On the issue of a lack of hiring statistics for veterans O'Regan's office said:
"Our government is committed to supporting Canadian Veterans. We have invested in their education, training and leadership development and we recognize that these skills create a very talented labour pool. That is why we are increasing the (number) of Veterans hired by the Federal Public Service."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/phoenix-pay-troubles-vets-statistics-1.4418728
By David McKie --- CBC News --- Posted: Nov 24, 2017
Veterans salute during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Montreal, earlier this year. An internal government document indicates that the federal government is unable to track how many veterans are working in the public service.
Problems with the federal government's Phoenix pay system are making it impossible for a program designed to facilitate the integration of veterans in the federal public service to collect hiring statistics.
The finding is contained in a document from Veterans Affairs Canada that CBC News has obtained through the Access to Information Act.
The Dec. 2016 report entitled Veteran Appointments to the Federal Public Service, warns that "...new coding and data formatting has negatively impacted the ability to collect hiring data…It is anticipated that these numbers will be available in January 2017."
That deadline came and went. There is still no data, and without it, it's become impossible to find out how well the program is working.
This has become a problem for Alex Grant, a 30-year navy veteran who is in charge of a new program within Veterans Affairs called the Veterans in the Public Service unit.
Though he stresses that the absence of statistics has no effect on the program's ability to promote the hiring of veterans within the federal civil service, he concedes that the Phoenix problems are making his life difficult.
"In my tactical world…I want to know whether I'm having a positive impact… And I would obviously like to see an uptick in…hires so I can validate my business model."
'Scary for veterans'
The Veterans Affairs internal document explains that hiring data comes from the government's pay system, which means that the Public Service Commission, the federal agency responsible for collecting these statistics, has no data to work with.
The problem affects veterans who are given so-called preferential treatment under the Veterans Hiring Act, which came into force July 1, 2015. The act includes two groups: veterans who are given priority treatment because they have been released due to medical conditions such as PTSD. And veterans who are given a favourable, but lower status on the hiring scale. Members in this group have retired under more normal circumstances, or who are still in the force and thinking about switching careers.
The Phoenix pay system problem affects the veterans who fall in this second group.
"I most certainly have heard of this problem," Carl Gannon, National President of the Union of Veterans' Affairs Employees, told CBC News "And it's a very real problem. It's really scary for veterans who are trying to go through the system."
Haven't 'heard' anything
The Public Service Commission's Tanya Perlman says she hopes to have the statistics available "in the New Year."
However, Gannon, whose union is an outspoken critic of the pay system, said he doesn't see the problems being fixed "anytime soon."
He said the Phoenix problem is also having another effect. It's causing a lot of stress for veterans working for departments such as Veterans Affairs and National Defence — the two departments that hire the most vets — who don't know if they're getting paid this month, or the next.
"We're talking about people not getting their paycheques. They're coming to work…and sometimes going a month, two months without getting paid. That's hard to deal with if you have PTSD…It's a catastrophic situation."
A statement from Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan's office sent to CBC by email said "Veterans Affairs has not heard that any Veterans have quit because of Phoenix."
On the issue of a lack of hiring statistics for veterans O'Regan's office said:
"Our government is committed to supporting Canadian Veterans. We have invested in their education, training and leadership development and we recognize that these skills create a very talented labour pool. That is why we are increasing the (number) of Veterans hired by the Federal Public Service."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/phoenix-pay-troubles-vets-statistics-1.4418728
Trooper- Administrator
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Re: Phoenix pay system issues making it impossible to track hiring of veterans in public service
by Warrior Tue 14 May 2019, 9:36 pm
Phoenix pay grievances threaten to choke federal labour relations board
Andrew Duffy, Postmedia News (aduffy@postmedia.com)
Published: May 14, 2019
Andrew Duffy, Postmedia News (aduffy@postmedia.com)
Published: May 14, 2019
Unions representing employees at Veterans Affairs Canada are calling on the federal government to take steps to fix the Phoenix pay system once and for all. - SaltWire Network file photo
The number of Phoenix-related pay grievances filed by public servants has skyrocketed during the past three years and threatens to overwhelm an already backlogged federal labour relations board.
Statistics published by the Federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) show that pay-related issues accounted for 41 per cent of the 1,363 individual grievances filed in 2017-2018. Two years earlier, pay-related grievances accounted for just 12 per cent of the board’s annual caseload.
The board has set up a special working group dedicated to managing the influx of Phoenix grievances.
Virginia Adamson, the board’s executive director and general counsel, said it “continues to make every effort to strategically and practically address the management of its case inventory.”
While it’s impossible to pinpoint how many new pay grievances are directly related to the government’s error-prone pay system, she said, “it’s reasonable to assume that the higher proportions of the past two years can be largely attributable to Phoenix.”
The board has received more than 1,200 pay-related grievances in just two years, but many of those cases have been suspended while officials explore alternative mechanisms to settle the disputes.
The pay grievances have added to the board’s substantial backlog. The board’s overall case inventory hit 7,300 in 2018, up from 5,100 files in 2015 — an increase of 43 per cent in three years.
The board closed 2,000 files last year, which means that new grievances can take three years or more to have a final decision rendered.
Adamson said a new, electronic case management system was launched in March 2018 to help address the backlog. The new system will be able to group files that can be heard together, she said, such as those related to pay problems.
In addition, she said, the FPSLREB has hired three new full-time board members to hear grievances in the past year, along with five part-time members.
Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said her members are often frustrated by the length of time it takes for a grievance to reach the hearing stage. “It’s nuts,” she said.
With more 60,000 members, PIPSC represents scientists and professionals employed in the federal public service, and some provincial and territorial governments.
Daviau said that the Phoenix compensation package recently negotiated with the federal government — it is still subject to ratification — provides for an expedited process to settle individual pay grievances now before the labour relations board.
Details of that process have yet to hammered out, she said, but the idea is to create a settlement “framework” that would define common grievance scenarios and then determine appropriate remedies and compensation.
Federal civil servants are “three-and-a-half years into the Phoenix hell,” she said, and do not want to wait years more to have their pay grievances resolved.
The federal government has reached a tentative agreement on Phoenix damages with unions that represent 146,000 current and former public servants. The Public Service Alliance of Canada, however, has rejected the proposed Phoenix compensation package as too meagre.
Treasury Board spokesperson Bianca Healy confirmed Tuesday that the tentative deal i ncludes provisions to review and reduce pay-related grievances currently before the federal labour relations board. Details of that new system are not yet available, she said.
The federal labour relations board has a broad mandate. Charged with administering the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act, it resolves disputes between civil servants and their employer by hearing individual, group, and policy grievances filed under collective agreements, while also resolving issues related to pay equity, workplace harassment and human rights.
Warrior- Benefits Coordinator
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Join date : 2018-04-16
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