Ottawa’s plan to fix the troubled Phoenix payroll system is being met with skepticism.
Labour leaders have been staging regular protests in Kingston over a system that pays federal employees too much, not enough — or sometimes not at all.
They question why the government will spend another $430 million to fix the Phoenix system while making plans to abandon it.
“Money fixes everything — and you need to spend the money,” said Richard McNeill, with the Union of Safety and Justice Employees.
“The Conservatives tried to save money — it was a wasted effort; now they’re going to have to go and spend nearly $1 billion tax dollars to fix these problems.”
Chris Snooks was one of between 50 and 60 people protesting in front of Collins Bay Institution on Wednesday, the second anniversary of the introduction of the payroll system.
Snooks, a steward with the Union of National Defence Employees, he says he’s not sure what to make of the federal government’s announcement to scrap the Phoenix system.
“Most of the members I’ve talked to say they don’t even trust the government — they believe this is just smoke and mirrors as the election’s coming up in a year.”
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