“I will have to restructure my debt,” he confides in a calm voice Newspaper Héryk Julien, who fights like a devil in holy water against the Phénix salary system that has been ruining the lives of civil servants like him for almost eight years.
“We are victims of this and are treated as if we had stolen money. “They are the ones who got me into financial trouble,” the Natural Resources Canada researcher from the Quebec region sighs to the Journal.
Héryk Julien's ordeal began in 2016.
Héryk Julien wrote a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put an end to this ordeal. Photo Stevens LeBlanc
At that time he bought a house. His son has just been born. He takes his paternity leave and extends his break from work by deciding to split his salary to spend more time with him.
But Phoenix doesn't like it and he loses control.
When he returns to work after his days off, we forget to pay him for a month and a half. As a result, wage errors follow one another and become so frequent that his life becomes an eternal battle against the federal apparatus.
“I wrote dozens and dozens of posts to tell them it wasn’t normal, but there was never any reaction,” claims Héryk Julien.
Leaning against the wall
Today he is back in front of the wall again due to years of wage errors. He is being asked to repay more than $25,000, an amount he simply does not have.
“I received a registered letter a week before Easter last year. They gave me a week,” complains the officer.
Bruce Roy, national president of the Government Services Union, says he is forced to negotiate gradual deals with workers most affected by the Phoenix wage system setbacks. Provided by the Government Services Union
Such stories are not uncommon at the Government Services Union.
“As an officer, I know that in every incident there is a risk of a salary error occurring, so we dare not change our address or our insurance. People are now hesitant to even accept a promotion,” national president Bruce Roy tells the Journal.
“I find that very depressing. It is a basic agreement: “I work. You pay me,” he whispers.
At the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Quebec, regional vice-president Kevin Piton is clear that Phénix “still hurts a lot.”
“It’s been total chaos since 2018. “It’s no longer uncommon to see pools opening and people applying for jobs,” he notes.
“If Justin Trudeau wants the most competent civil servants, we must provide them with successful conditions. We have good people, but we are losing good people due to salary problems,” he laments.
Kevin Piton, assistant regional vice president of PSAC-Quebec, was a technician and has now been a site inspector for 11 years. Provided by AFPC-Québec
PSPC defends itself
How many Quebecers experience the same nightmare as Héryk Julien while awake? Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) doesn't know about this because the data from the Phoenix system “does not include geographic region or province information,” they reply.
“Employees deserve to be paid correctly and on time, and such situations are unacceptable,” assures SPAC spokesman Jeremy Link, without getting involved in the Héryk Julien case.
“The Government of Canada has implemented numerous measures, including flexible reimbursement options for certain overpayments, to support employees facing wage issues,” he adds.
Salary issues since January 2018. Provided by Public Services and Procurement Canada
Is Justin Trudeau affected?
Last May, Le Journal asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office whether he himself had ever had salary problems with Phénix.
His attaché, Mohammad Hussain, limited himself to the answer that he “is paid by the lower house like the other MPs”.
In response to a question from Le Journal, the House of Commons could not say whether elected members of the House of Representatives were also victims of the system.
“The administration of the House of Representatives has no record of underpayments or overpayments due to errors caused by the Phénix system,” replied its spokeswoman Amélie Crosson.
– In collaboration with Charles Mathieu
Phoenix salary problems
- 2016: Introduction of the Phénix payment system
- 2021: $2,500 compensation for losses (2016-2020)
- 2023: 448,000 wage problems
(Source: Canadian Government)
Cost of the contract for IBM: $650 million
The newspaper reproduces here in full the letter that Héryk Julien sent to Justin Trudeau
(The boldface in the text is the author)
Mr Prime Minister,
I express to you my deep dissatisfaction with the Phoenix pay service, which is seriously affecting my financial situation and that of many other federal employees. We are being held hostage by a broken payroll system. This implies enormous economic and psychological difficulties that we did not choose and that we do not deserve.
I have been in public service for almost 24 years and in the last 8 years Phénix has caused serious errors in 6 of them. I am in an untenable financial situation with tens of thousands of dollars in debt due to Phoenix's mistakes. This is a situation that I did not choose and that was forced upon me despite my best efforts to avoid it. I feel betrayed and devalued by my employer. I ask you, Mr Prime Minister, to do so Show leadership and compassion toward the Phoenix victims.
I urge you to take concrete and quick action to resolve the payroll issues. It is unacceptable that committed and competent employees are shown so little respect and consideration. It is time to introduce a reliable and transparent pay system that guarantees everyone the right to a fair pay. The system must stop generating new errors year after year. It has to be more human and flexible. From For example, recovery must take into account the specific situation of the system's victims in order to avoid placing families in financial precarity. The current refund conditions are completely inhumane. We are victims of errors in the federal wage system and should therefore have access to support and redress. This is currently not the case.
Thank you for your attention and I hope to receive a positive response from you.
Please accept, Mr. Prime Minister, the expression of my noblest feelings.
Heryk Julien
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