PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Public Service Employees Rally in Vancouver to Fix Phoenix
Vancouver, October 18, 2017 – Hundreds of members of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) are gathering in Vancouver today to protest the inability of the federal government to Fix Phoenix.
The rally is being held from 12:15 to 12:45 pm at 401 Burrard Street in Vancouver. Speakers include PIPSC President Debi Daviau; Todd Smith, A/Regional Executive Vice-President, PSAC BC; Garth Mullins, President, CAPE Local 301; and Karen Hall, President, PIPSC Vancouver Branch.
“It’s been two years since this government was elected. Since then, unions have had to fight tooth and nail to get it to act decisively on Phoenix. Despite all its promises, we’re still waiting for a permanent fix,” said PIPSC President Debi Daviau. “Today is a federal government pay day and we can expect that thousands of public service employees will once again not be paid, paid too little or paid too much. We need to put a stop to this fiasco once and for all.”
“Canada’s largest employer isn’t paying its workers properly. Or at all,” said CAPE Local 301 President Garth Mullins. “The Phoenix system has messed up the pay of three quarters of my members. One guy had to take a job at a bar. One woman stopped getting paid when she left on maternity leave. What kind of failed state can’t pay its own workers? When we show up for work without getting paid, the bosses must think “what else can I get away with?” This weakens the whole labour movement. Sunny ways don’t pay. That’s why we’re fighting back.”
Other rallies are also planned today across the province in Victoria, Nanaimo, Prince Rupert and Chilliwack.
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For further information:
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada:
Johanne Fillion
613-228-6310, ext 4953 or 613-883-4900 (cell)
Canadian Association of Professional Employees (Local 301):
Garth Mullins
604-831-6967