Sit-in at Trudeau's constituency office over Phoenix pay system earns group meeting with PM

A group of civil servants in Montreal frustrated with the Phoenix payroll system managed to take their concerns straight to the top this week.

About a dozen employees fromthe Department of National Defence occupied the constituency office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his Papineau riding Thursday morning and demandeda meeting. They wanted to lay out their concerns on the many flaws in the new government-widePhoenix pay system that has led to tens of thousands of federal employees being underpaid, overpaid or receiving no pay at all.

"We went there and told the employees we wanted to talk to him and that we wouldn't leave without talking to the prime minister," said Simon Richard, a defence department employee and local representative forthe Public Service Alliance of Canada.

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Richard said his colleagues were respectful and didn't interfere with Trudeau's staff as they went about their work. But they fully expected to be thrown out. Instead, after meeting with Trudeau's executive assistant, they were told the prime minister would be able to meet with them later in the day.

"It was a surprise, because mainly we were thinking about being, like, kicked out of the office after 30 minutes," Richard said in an interview with CBC News.

Trudeau's office arranged a conference call between the union members and the chief of staff for Public Services Minister Judy Foote, a call that lasted roughly 90 minutes.

Towardthe end of the day, six hours after the employees first occupied his office, Trudeau met with the group for about 15 minutes. He listened to their concerns and even posed for a few photos. But Richard said the prime minister made no specific promises about fixing Phoenix.

Pleased to meet Trudeau

"He just confirmed that all the promises that have been done by his ministers, and all the deputy ministers, would be taken seriously," Richard said.

Despite receiving no firm commitments, Richard said he and his colleagues were pleased to meet with Trudeau. They do, however, want to see action to resolve the many issues that have plagued the Phoenix system.

"We are satisfied with the outcome of that day and we will wait for the results," Richard said.

Aspokespersonfor the prime minister said he would not describe the incidentas a normal occurrence, but in this instance the prime minister thought it would be the right thing to do.

The federal government has said it could cost up to $50million to fix Phoenix. The government this week argued before the Public Service Labour Relations Board that problems with the system were the result of an "honest administrative error" brought about by insufficient training, and not the technology itself.