A report released yesterday from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) confirms what we have been saying since November 2018 – Phoenix must be replaced and a new system can be cost effective.
Throwing good money after bad is not a viable strategy. Continuing to give money to companies like IBM to patch a broken system has to have an end date. Had the previous government listened to the advice of its own public service professionals, we could have avoided the Phoenix mess altogether. So much unnecessary pain and suffering has been caused to Canada's public service employees, and so much financial loss to all Canadians.
The costs of the current Phoenix pay system have skyrocketed due to cascading mistakes made throughout the outsourcing of the project development and rollout.
But looking at past mistakes isn't enough.
The government is currently in the process of identifying a replacement to the pay system and PIPSC is proud to be a leader in that process. We believe that if the new pay project is done free of ideology and in consultation with public servants, the cost will be reasonable. Although the PBO report does not factor in all that needs to be considered in new integrated HR-to-Pay system, it does demonstrate the urgent need for a new system.
We are pushing for the new pay project to move forward as quickly as possible and Treasury Board has indicated a pilot of the new NextGen HR-to-Pay system will be launched this fall.
I will be pushing the federal government to make a clear monetary commitment before the federal election so that work can continue on the NextGen HR-to-Pay project. Moving quickly on building a new pay system needs to be seen for what it is, a win-win-win situation, for public service employees, the Federal Government, and Canadian tax payers.
Better together.
Debi Daviau
President