His pay cut in half because of Phoenix: a civil servant is afraid of “losing everything”

A Canadian Coast Guard employee who saw half of his pay cut in the wake of the Phoenix failures now fears “losing everything.”

“I’m losing everything. I have three children, that’s two mortgage payments that I can’t afford. I have nothing left in my account,” says Michel Landry with emotion, who has worked for the public service for 25 years.

Phoenix’s failures made headlines again last week, when a Defense retiree was still chasing his check for $118,000 and a former Service Canada executive was unable to obtain her $20 severance pay. 000$, four years after resigning (see other texts below).

Michel Landry estimates that the system has deprived him of $155,000 to date. His problems reportedly began in March 2016, when he was appointed to a new position. But his salary would not have been adjusted accordingly.

“They didn’t put me at the right level. Instead of putting me on level 4, they put me on level 1. My ordeal began there,” explains the resident of Île d’Orléans, near Quebec. His statements are also confirmed in an email from his employer, consulted by our Investigation Office.

Payrolls cut in half

But rather than paying him the amounts owed, the federal government has devoted itself since the fall of 2022 to withdrawing thousands of dollars that would have been paid to him in “overpayments”, also symptomatic of Phoenix’s problems.

At times, his paychecks were reportedly cut in half, which made it very difficult to pay his bills. Especially since Mr. Landry’s financial obligations were greater, he who had just bought back half of his house following a separation.

The official says he is unable to quantify the amounts overpaid, as the remuneration service – which he has tried to contact “hundreds of times”, he says – is still studying his file.

“But even if they had given me $50,000 too much… they still owe me $100,000! Just in 2023, they owe me $25,000,” complains the 44-year-old man.

Sick leave

At the end of his resources and tired, Michel Landry was placed on sick leave last June.

In a final attempt to find his money, Mr. Landry wrote to the remuneration office again, on October 30, to request “immediate emergency action”, otherwise he would “lose everything”.

“I don’t understand why no one does anything immediately, nothing to help me and not even able to resolve, to act, no moral support, even no appeal,” he wrote.

To which “The MaPaye team” replied, on November 3, that they understood that his situation was “critical”, but “that a careful analysis” was necessary to guarantee the correct resolution of his problem. He was assured of a return within the next week. But since then, nothing.

At Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), we refuse to comment on the file, citing its confidentiality.

“The resources and time required to resolve pay-related problems depend on the nature of the file, each case being unique,” ​​said spokesperson Alexandre Baillairgé-Charbonneau.

Other recent Phoenix failures

A check for $118,000 expected

A National Defense retiree is still waiting for his check for $118,000 from the federal government for his vacation and severance pay.

The newspaper told last week the misfortunes of Gaétan Thibault, from Sainte-Catherine-de-la-Jacques-Cartier, near Quebec, who worked for 35 years for the federal government. Following our report, however, Mr. Thibault received a call from a payroll service advisor, who received his file to be processed “as a priority,” he says.

Gaétan Thibault, retired from the federal public service.

Photo Stevens LeBlanc/JOURNAL DE QUEBEC

“Accrued vacation pay will be settled in the coming days and my severance pay will be resolved by the end of the year, according to this person,” Gaétan Thibault informed us.

Still no severance pay, four years after his resignation

A former regional director of Service Canada is unable to obtain her severance pay of more than $20,000, four years after resigning.

Kareen Joseph, from La Vallée-du-Richelieu, spent 20 years in the public service, before resigning in April 2019. She even called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to obtain her check, reported the Journallast May.

Former Service Canada executive Kareen Joseph is after the federal apparatus which is incapable of respecting its employees.

Francis Halin’s photo

M’s situation^me However, Joseph has not changed since then, except that she received a new summary table of her situation. “I dare to hope to have a Christmas present,” she said, laughing.

– With the collaboration of Francis Halin