Bargaining
December 12, 2012
Review of “Pay in arrears” system is dead on arrival
PSAC received confirmation from the employer that it has no plans to implement a “pay in arrears” system in the federal government at this time.
This fall, rumors circulated widely that the employer was planning to push through changes to the pay system and to pay all federal employees two weeks “in arrears.” Currently, most federal employees are paid “on time” – which means that the pay you receive on a Wednesday covers work up until the end of that pay week.
In response to these rumours, PSAC National President Robyn Benson sent a letter to the Chief Human Resources Officer demanding that they explain their plans and initiate a proper process of consultation and negotiation on the idea.
Although it took some time, we have now received an official response, which clearly states that there are no plans to pay all employees on a pay-in-arrears basis. “I can assure you that I am not aware of any such plans and, further, of any other entity making such plans,” reads the letter, from a senior officer at the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer (OCHRO).
A number of departments have also distributed messages to compensation advisors, managers and union officers, backing away from the plan. One message reads:
- “To be clear, there are no current plans to move everybody to arrears pay. In the pay modernization realm, they have been shopping for off-the shelf pay products, and most, if not all existing products are set up for arrears pay, but no commitments or purchases have been made. To reiterate – there are no plans for this to happen, especially not in 2013.”
“I am very pleased that these plans have turned out to be just a nasty rumour,” said National President Robyn Benson. “Thanks to union members who quickly brought this to my attention, I was able to send a strong message to Treasury Board that if they want to even consider any changes to the pay system, they better be prepared to negotiate with us and the other federal public sector unions first.”
PSAC will monitor this issue very closely through its participation in the special union-management consultation committee set up in 2011 to review the establishment of the Centre for Pay Expertise in Miramichi, New Brunswick.
Date Modified : 2012/12/12
