Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
OTTAWA — The federal government plans to cover out-of-pocket expenses its workers have incurred as a result of problems linked to the troubled Phoenix payroll system.
Thousands of workers who haven’t been paid in months have been forced to borrow money or max out their credit cards to pay their bills while the government sorts out problems with the new pay system.
Workers will have to apply through a claims process likely starting in September to have the government cover these expenses, but officials didn’t estimate how much this will cost.
Federal workers who have been overpaid and need to repay the government, will have the repayments spread out over the coming months to avoid a lump sum coming off one pay cheque.
The Phoenix system oversees the pay of 300,000 federal public servants, but more than 80,000 workers have either been overpaid, underpaid or missed entire paycheques since program launched in February.
Wednesday was payday for federal workers and officials say 296,470 workers received their regular paycheques and thousands more payments were made for things such as overtime.
