Updates

In order to prioritize the workload of the compensation community and to allow Phoenix pay-related matters to be addressed first, the Treasury Board has recently issued an information bulletin to departments providing direction regarding automatic compensatory cash-out.

The overtime articles in our five Treasury Board collective agreements (PA, TC, EB, SV and FB groups) provide employees with the option for overtime to be paid by compensatory leave rather than pay in a fiscal year.

In most cases, compensatory leave not used by the end of a twelve (12) month period, as determined by the Employer, is subject to an automatic cash out provision. For example, the current PA collective agreement reads:

Further to the previous round of collective bargaining, and specifically the reopener clause, our Bargaining Team will meet with the Employer on May 3 and 4 2017. The reopener clause allows us to reopen the collective agreement to negotiate economic increases for the 3rd and 4th year of our current agreement.  It should be noted that if we cannot come to an agreement the issue will be submitted for binding arbitration. 

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) welcomes the modest investments in public services announced in this year’s budget, but we are disappointed that it did not go far enough to restore the services Canadians rely on.

“This budget was an opportunity to improve front-line public service delivery. While it is encouraging to see investments in food safety and transportation infrastructure, the Liberals missed the opportunity to substantially restore and improve public services,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “PSAC is disappointed that the government ignored our demand to include a contingency fund to address problems with the Phoenix pay system.”

The Liberal government needs to reinvest in the public service and ensure resources are made available to restore and improve services.

“Federal public service workers see first-hand the impact that years of cuts have had on the quality of Canada’s public services,” said Robyn Benson, PSAC National President. “From food safety to accessing Employment Insurance benefits, this budget is an opportunity to restore what was cut so that our members can deliver the high-quality public services that Canadians deserve.”