Advertisement

Phoenix pay fiasco: Backlog balloons to more than 500,000 outstanding transactions

Carla Qualtrough is pictured in the House of Commons.
Carla Qualtrough is pictured in the House of Commons. Justin Tang/CP

OTTAWA – The minister responsible for the problem-plagued Phoenix pay system says a backlog of outstanding transactions being dealt with by the federal pay centre has spiked to 520,000.

In a letter being circulated to federal civil servants over the next couple of days, Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough says those transactions include non-financial requests from employees, such as changing banking or home address information.

READ MORE: With Phoenix pay system fix potentially costing $1B, union says time to pull the plug

The number also includes 265,000 cases where government workers have been underpaid, overpaid, or not paid at all and have waited beyond what the government considers an acceptable period of time for their issues to be resolved.

In the letter, Qualtrough repeats what she and her predecessor in the portfolio have been saying for months — that the situation is “unacceptable.”

Story continues below advertisement

WATCH: Trudeau says government working ‘diligently’ on Phoenix pay system

Click to play video: 'Trudeau says government working ‘diligently’ on Phoenix pay system'
Trudeau says government working ‘diligently’ on Phoenix pay system

And she emphasizes that anyone working in government who is experiencing financial hardship as a result of pay problems can request an emergency salary advance.

Qualtrough says dealing with the pay system backlog will continue to be a slow process as the government seeks a “permanent solution” to the Phoenix debacle.

Sponsored content

AdChoices