Ottawa hopes to clear Phoenix backlog by 2025, spend nearly $1B more

Ottawa expects to walk different $963 cardinal to woody pinch nan Phoenix salary system debacle that has plagued nan nationalist work since 2016, and can’t yet opportunity what nan last value tag will beryllium to axe nan strategy entirely.

The nonaccomplishment of nan salary strategy has truthful acold costs nan national authorities $3.5 cardinal — a number that could proceed to turn arsenic authorities tries to tackle nan monolithic backlog of errors and problem cases.

The backlog needs to beryllium cleared earlier Ottawa tin yet dump nan error-prone salary strategy for authorities employees, said Alex Benay, nan subordinate lawman curate of nan Public Services department

The national authorities has ambitions to clear that backlog by March of adjacent year. But moreover arsenic workers get done problem cases, they can’t power really galore caller problems are added to nan pile, he said.

“We do not person power complete intake … which has historically accrued twelvemonth complete year,” Benay said Tuesday.

There is still a backlog of astir 215,000 unresolved, analyzable problems pinch nan Phoenix salary system, he said.

The authorities hopes to get done much than half of those cases by nan extremity of nan twelvemonth by bringing much unit connected committee and utilizing artificial intelligence.

The costs anticipated this twelvemonth see $162.7 cardinal to create and trial a caller quality resources and payroll system, and simplify existent quality resources procedures.

Benay couldn’t opportunity really overmuch nan authorities will walk earlier nan business is afloat solved, but promised nan authorities would beryllium transparent astir immoderate issues encountered on nan way.

He said 1 of nan department’s goals this twelvemonth is to fig retired really overmuch nan caller payroll strategy will cost, should it beryllium to beryllium successful.

“As soon arsenic we get acold capable into that process complete nan people of nan year, we will person an thought of what nan translator costs will be,” he said.

The irony, said nan president of Canada’s largest public-service union, is that nan Phoenix payroll strategy was intended to prevention nan authorities millions twelvemonth complete year.

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Phoenix was introduced successful 2016 to switch dozens of antiquated salary systems. Instead, nan strategy was riddled pinch errors and created monolithic and costly upheaval crossed nan nationalist service.

“They request to guarantee that nan next-gen. salary strategy doesn’t go different Groundhog Day, Phoenix remake,” said Public Service Alliance of Canada president Sharon DeSousa.

“We’ve lived this for nan past 8 years.”

She said nan authorities must not make nan aforesaid correction arsenic they did pinch Phoenix by discarding unit erstwhile nan caller strategy is successful place, particularly if they scheme to usage artificial intelligence instead.

“There needs to beryllium a quality constituent to each of this,” she said. “Without a doubt, we sewage into this messiness pinch Phoenix because they laid disconnected a bunch of compensation advisers and nan activity that they do is truthful integral to ensuring that salary is really done accurately connected time.”

The authorities plans to supply different update connected nan salary strategy successful nan fall.