CAPE Accepts Government Phoenix Damages Offer

Ottawa – The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) announced today that it had accepted Treasury Board Secretariat’s offer presented Friday May 3 to compensate federal employees for damages caused by the Phoenix Pay System. The decision was made following a consultation with CAPE’s National Executive Committee and its membership base.

Since the offer has been presented, CAPE members have been given an opportunity to share their views and ask questions online and in person at various meetings held in Ottawa and across the country.

 “We have spent the last ten days consulting our members to help form our final decision” said Greg Phillips, CAPE President. “At the end of this exercise, we concluded that it was in our members best interest to sign this agreement and give them access to a fast-track process to urgently get compensated for financial and non- financial damages caused by Phoenix.”

In addition to creating a new, expeditious process to file a claim to secure compensation, the agreement includes up to five days of annual leave that would be awarded to all CAPE’s members ⎯ whether directly impacted by Phoenix or not, for the general aggravation and frustrations caused by the faulty pay system.

Beyond the Phoenix damages agreement, CAPE is pursuing the resolution of remuneration owed to its members, and a replacement to the Phoenix Pay System installed and faulty since 2016. CAPE sits on the Next Generation HR and Pay Joint Union Management Committee where it is voicing the concerns of its members and working towards accelerating the implementation of an improved pay system.
The agreement will only apply to federal employees who are part of the core public administration and represented by the bargaining agents that signed on to the agreement.

The offer will benefit over 70,000 federal employees, in addition to eligible retirees and former employees.

Read more about the offer: Frequently Asked Question about the Phoenix damages agreement.