The Public Service Alliance of Canada has published the following resources regarding the Phoenix settlement. Please click on the links below for more details:
Phoenix damages compensation information
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Government rushing Phoenix damages payment without tax ruling
Send a letter to Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Minister Anita Anand that Phoenix damages shouldn’t be taxed.
The Liberal government has shamelessly chosen the 5th anniversary of the Phoenix pay system disaster to short-change thousands of PSAC members on their compensation for years of pay problems.
Even though PSAC is in the process of working with CRA to review the taxability of Phoenix damages, the federal government has confirmed that it intends to ignore these efforts and issue the up to $2,500 for our members, on March 3 – with taxes deducted. Treasury board provided no explanation for their actions.
“The government still has time to do the right thing,” said PSAC National President Chris Aylward. “General damages should not be taxed, so we’re calling on key ministers to immediately intervene to fix this before payments are issued.”
The $2,500 settlement, even if taxed, is still greater than the five days of leave offered to PSAC members, but it represents a violation of the language we negotiated into the agreement. PSAC maintains that general damages paid to all employees for ‘stress, aggravation, pain and suffering’ and for the late implementation of collective agreements are non-taxable, as CRA has acknowledged other specific damages in the settlement should be treated.
“It’s a slap in the face to the tens of thousands of PSAC members who suffered years of pay problems, and then worked non-stop during this pandemic to deliver aid and benefits to millions of Canadians in crisis,” said PSAC National President Chris Aylward.
PSAC will pursue every legal route to secure the full compensation that our members are entitled to. This includes tax challenges that would retroactively see our members reimbursed should the payments be issued as planned on March 3, but our goal remains to avoid any time-consuming and complex tax disputes for our members.
“Phoenix short-changed PSAC members for years – the last thing they deserve is for the government to short-change them again,” added Aylward.
PSAC will continue to work to resolve this problem and updates will follow in the coming days.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
How to request the Phoenix damages settlement for retired or former employees
It has been brought to our attention that some retired or former PSAC members have been misdirected to fill out a form titled Claim for general compensation for former employees: Payment equivalent to additional leave to request their portion of the Phoenix damages settlement.
This is not the correct form to request PSAC’s Phoenix settlement of up to $2500.
This form is to request the financial equivalent of up to 5 days of leave, which was the settlement signed by all other federal bargaining agents, except PSAC.
Retired or former PSAC members who meet the eligibility criteria will receive financial compensation for Phoenix damages for each fiscal year for which they are eligible.
To receive compensation, retired or former employees will have to file a similar claim through Treasury Board. However, the details and the link to the claim form have not been made available by the federal government yet. We will share the link to the form once it becomes available.
Looking for more information on the Phoenix damages settlement? Check out our most frequently asked questions. Please keep your contact information up to date via the member portal to continue receiving information about the Phoenix settlement.
The original version of this article was first posted on the PSAC website.
PSAC and Treasury Board sign PA, TC and Phoenix deals
PSAC and Treasury Board today signed new collective agreements for the Program and Administrative (PA) and Technical Services (TC) groups that were ratified by members on September 29. The two bargaining units account for over 80,000 federal public service workers. PSAC and Treasury Board also signed the Phoenix damages agreement reached this summer.
Separately, the parties signed the protocol agreement on the negotiation of working conditions for civilian members in the RCMP who are slated to be deemed into PSAC bargaining units.
Please see the following page on the PSAC website for more detailed information.
Updated FAQ regarding Phoenix damages compensation
PSAC has created a FAQ section regarding Phoenix damages compensation.
See the following page for more information: Phoenix damages settlement.