Our survey this summer showed that of 1,725 CAPE members who responded, 75% had experienced pay problems because of Phoenix. It has been a year since the government promised to fix this and yet it remains an unacceptable mess.
CAPE continues to take action. We filed four policy grievances: two for each of our TR and EC groups. One grievance contests, generally, the numerous, continuous, and on-going errors in pay that many of our members have experienced and that have not yet been corrected. The second grieves the discriminatory treatment of members who have had pay problems while on leave, including those in receipt of disability benefits and/or maternity or parental benefits. These two grievances were recently filed for both groups. CAPE intends to pursue these grievances to adjudication and will keep you updated with their progress.
In addition, CAPE has filed approximately 30 individual grievances and continues to provide informal assistance to more than 300 other members experiencing Phoenix-related pay issues.
CAPE is also taking on new problems caused by Phoenix, this time on back pay owed to our EC and TR group members. October 21, 2017 was the deadline for the government to implement the current collective agreements for these groups. In accordance with Article 27 of the EC collective agreement and Article 15 of the TR collective agreement, members in these groups should have received back pay for wages earned since June 22, 2014 for ECs and since April 19, 2014 for TRs. However, we know that for many, this either hasn’t happened or they haven’t received the correct amount.
As an EC or TR group member, you should have received back pay owed to you under the current collective agreement by October 21, 2017. For more information on the amount, check Appendix "A" of your collective agreement.
Check your most recent pay stub or look to your next pay which you should receive on November 2, 2017. You should see a line for a lump sum of retroactive pay equal to the percentage you’re owed. If you’re not sure or can’t access your pay stub, contact your Employer and the pay center.
If you’ve got specific questions, don’t hesitate to send us an email at general@acep-cape.ca.
