By Taylor MacPherson

P.A. corrections officers protest pay system

Oct 25, 2016 | 5:00 PM

Nearly 100 members of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN) convened in Prince Albert this morning to march on the office of M.P. Randy Hoback.

The union workers carried signs and sounded whistles and sirens as they marched in protest of the Phoenix pay system, which has resulted in many payment delays or non-payment of wages for federal civil servants.

Phoenix was introduced by the federal Liberals this past spring as an attempt to automate pay systems for the more than 250,000 Canadian public servants through a single nationwide system in Miramichi, N.B. Unfortunately, the system has suffered major technical issues leaving many public employees without pay for months at a time. 

“It’s been nothing but problems. Our members aren’t getting paid,” Boyd Ward, president of the Saskatchewan Penitentiary Local, told paNOW. “When they do get paid it’s a portion of their wage as an emergency salary advance. It has to end. There’s no end in sight.”

Ryan DeBack, UCCO-SACC-CSN regional vice-president, said the union was hoping to send a simple message to the federal government through their protest.

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“We work the toughest beat in Canada,” DeBack said as the union members assembled for their march in a downtown parking lot. “We’ve got a lot of officers here that work in a very tough environment. We do our job 100 per cent – we expect 100 per cent of our pay.”

“We’ve got members who have gone without pay for months and months,” DeBack said, noting UCCO-SACC-CSN represents approximately 7,800 members nationwide.

The union presented Hoback with a petition in August detailing their concerns and were told it would be presented in Parliament. According to DeBack the petition has yet to be presented, and they have not seen any action or support from Hoback since that time.

“Our members have had enough, and now is an opportunity for people to show Mr. Hoback and others that we are important and the work we do is important and we expect to be paid,” DeBack said. “We’ve been very patient for a long time.”

If today’s protest fails to draw government attention, DeBack said job action could be considered as a next step.

“All options are on the table,” he said.

Other UCCO-SACC-CSN members were conducting a similar protest in Montreal today.

“Members across the country have had it,” DeBack said, noting their protests were held on the same day as a sign of solidarity.

According to the website established by the federal government specifically to field complaints with the Phoenix system, there are more than 30,000 pay issues on backlog waiting to be resolved. 

“We’re looking to drive the message home that talk is cheap. We need action. We need the government to step up and deal with our pay issues,” DeBack said.

Speaking to paNOW from Ottawa, Randy Hoback expressed his solidarity with the protestors outside his office.

“I feel sorry for a lot of our federal employees in Prince Albert,” Hoback said. “There’s a huge problem here that needs to be fixed, and the Liberal government needs to take this seriously.”

Hoback said he had received the petition from UCCO-SACC-CSN, and it is currently in the certification process before being presented to Parliament. The petition is a useful tool, Hoback said, as it forces an official response from the government.

According to the M.P., the problems with Phoenix stem from poor implementation. He said the pay system was implemented nationwide without a smaller pilot program or a backup plan.

“For the Liberal government to take a new pay system and go right across the entire civil service and implement it without testing it in one department or doing a pilot project is just totally irresponsible,” Hoback said. In an official statement, Hoback called the system’s widespread implementation “truly mind-boggling.”

“I’m pledging whatever support I can give them,” Hoback said. “As far as them protesting outside my office, they’re welcome to do that.”

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews