Trudeau asked to order a halt to collection of ‘gross’ Phoenix overpayments
OTTAWA — Unions representing more than 225,000 federal public servants appealed directly to the prime minister on Friday for an order to block the government from collecting more money from its employees than they received in overpayments through the troubled Phoenix pay system.
The leaders of 17 unions also demanded compensation be paid to civil servants for the suffering they’ve endured as a result of the pay crisis.
The demands, contained in a letter to Justin Trudeau signed by all 17 bargaining agents, coincide with this month’s second anniversary of the launch of the electronic pay system and were issued ahead of protests planned for Feb. 28.
Since the launch of the Phoenix system in 2016, tens of thousands of federal employees have been underpaid, not paid at all or overpaid.