Federal workers took to the streets of Halifax on Wednesday to voice their displeasure with the problem-plague Phoenix payroll system.
Department of Natural Defence employee Kirby Dawson is one of thousands who have had interuptions in their pay.
"Honestly, I can't even begin to describe the last two years of my life,” says Dawson. “I've had over payments, under payments, I went three months consecutively with no pay cheque whatsoever.”
DND employee Glen McMullin has had similar struggles.
“We have four pay incentives, and right now I'm paid at a 3.2 where I should be paid at a 3.4. So I've been paid at the wrong rate for the last two years."
The Phoenix payroll system hasn’t worked properly since it was implemented. A National Day of Action was held Wednesday as part of marking the frustrating second anniversary of the system.
Speaking to students as part of a post budget tour in Halifax Wednesday, treasury board president Scott Brison noted the $16 million earmarked to fix the problem in the spending plan, and suggested more will be on the way once a strategy has been figured out.
“There'll be further investments required once we understand the best way forward in terms of a new pay system," says Brison.
But that comes as little comfort to those who are still not receiving their pay cheques in full.
Colleen Coffey, PSAC Atlantic Regional Executive vice-president, says she’s worked with an employee before Christmas who lost her home and car after she failed to get a pay cheque for five months.
"Fix this system. Work on this system,” Coffey says. “If you want to work on another system, PSAC says we welcome that. But we also are realists and we know it's not going to happen tomorrow.”
Coffee says there are 17,000 federal workers in the Atlantic region, and some estimates suggest 90 per cent of workers have been affected in one way or another by the Phoenix payroll system.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Bruce Frisko.
