His salary is cut in half because of Phoenix: One civil servant fears ‘losing everything’

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

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

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

Michel Landry estimates the system has robbed him of $155,000 so far. His troubles 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 on the right level. Instead of putting me on level 4, they put me on level 1. My ordeal started there,” explains the resident of Île d’Orléans, near Quebec. his statements are also confirmed in an email from his employer, consulted by our Office of Investigation.

Payrolls are cut in half

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

Sometimes their paychecks were cut in half, making it very difficult to pay their bills. Especially since Mr. Landry’s financial obligations were greater, he having just bought half of his house after a separation.

The official assures that he is not able to quantify the amounts paid in excess, since 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! They owe me $25,000 in 2023 alone,” complains the 44-year-old.

Sick leave

Exhausted and exhausted, Michel Landry was laid off last June.

In a last ditch effort to find his money, Mr. Landry wrote to the pay office again, on October 30, asking for “immediate emergency action,” or he would “lose everything.”

“I do not understand why no one does anything immediately, nothing to help me and is not even able to resolve, to act, of any moral support, even of any appeal,” he wrote.

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

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

“The resources and time required to resolve pay-related issues depends on the nature of the case, each case is unique,” said spokesman Alexandre Baillairgé-Charbonneau.

Other recent Phoenix failures

A check for $118,000 is expected

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

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

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

Still no severance pay, four years after his resignation

A former Service Canada regional manager can’t get her more than $20,000 severance pay, four years after she resigned.

Kareen Joseph, of La Vallée-du-Richelieu, spent 20 years in the public service, before resigning in April 2019. She even asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get her check, reported the diarylast may

The situation of M^me However, Joseph has not changed since then, except that he received a new summary chart of his situation. “I dare you to hope to have a Christmas present,” he said with a laugh.

– With the collaboration of Francis Halin