Tens of thousands of public servants still waiting for Phoenix pay problems to be resolved

As the federal government continues to whittle away at a backlog of tens of thousands of public servants being improperly paid by the problem-plagued Phoenix system, new cases continue to emerge, the top bureaucrat assigned to fix the problem said Wednesday.

At a technical briefing to update the public on the government'sprogress, the deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement Canada said the backlog now consists of nearly 74,000 cases, down from 77,000 two weeks ago and 82,000 in mid July.

At that rate of progress, it would take almost a yearto eliminate the backlog. But Marie Lemaysaidthe governmenthopes to make a "significantdent" in the number of cases in September as temporary pay centres recruit more staff, and has set Oct. 31 as itsdeadline to eliminate the backlog.

Lemay confirmed today thatnew cases of pay problems continue to emerge.

Ottawa introduced its new payrollsystem,designed by IBM,in February, but ongoing problems have led totens of thousands of workersreportingbeing underpaid, overpaid ornot paid at all.

Some public servantsmaxed out their credit cards,went on stress leaveorquit because they could no longer afford to pay bills.

The government has hired 120 compensation advisers so far to work atnew, temporarypay centres in Gatineau, Que., Winnipeg and Shawinigan, Que., to deal with the massive backlog of cases.