Phoenix 10th year anniversary: For Ten Years, They Have Held the Line
Feb. 26, 2026
I am the National President of the Government Services Union, proud to represent the employees who work at Canada’s Public Service Pay Centre.
For the past decade, the Phoenix pay system has been synonymous with frustration, uncertainty, and hardship. Stories of delayed pay, overpayments, and administrative chaos have dominated headlines. What has been far less visible are the workers who have been on the front lines of this crisis every single day.
Today, I am speaking about them.
For ten years, Pay Centre employees have carried the weight of a system that did not work as intended. For ten years, they have held the line. While public attention focused on breakdowns and political fallout, these employees showed up every day with a simple objective: help people get paid correctly and as quickly as possible.
The pressure they face is immense. They speak daily with public servants who are worried about mortgages, rent, childcare costs, or retirement income. Behind every case file is a person navigating real financial stress. Pay Centre employees hear those stories. They absorb the frustration. They do everything within their authority to resolve problems rooted in decisions they did not make and a system they did not design.
Many have done this work while experiencing the same uncertainty themselves.
Over the years, these employees have become the human face of a system that failed. In moments of understandable frustration, anger has too often landed at the doorstep of the very people trying to fix the problem. They have endured harsh calls, sharp emails, and online criticism, all while maintaining professionalism and empathy.
That toll is real.
It affects morale. It affects mental health. It affects how people feel when they start their workday knowing they will once again be asked to repair something beyond their control.
Every single Pay Centre employee has been touched by Phoenix. Every one of them.
Let me be clear: the problem is the system, not the workers.
They did not design Phoenix. They did not implement it. They do not determine the policies that govern it. Their role has always been to mitigate the damage: to stabilize, to correct, to respond, to reassure.
And for ten years, they have done exactly that.
If the federal public service has continued to function despite the pay crisis, it is in large part because of their dedication. They have processed files, reduced backlogs, answered calls, issued corrections, and worked through extraordinary complexity. They have done so quietly, without fanfare, often without recognition.
Their commitment deserves more than acknowledgement. It deserves action.
Sustainable staffing levels are essential to reducing backlogs and preventing further strain. Stable, long-term solutions, not temporary fixes, are required to ensure that employees are not perpetually operating in crisis mode.
Public servants dedicate their careers to serving Canadians. Pay Centre employees are no different. They believe in the importance of their work. They believe that people should be paid accurately and on time. They understand the impact when that does not happen.
For ten years, they have carried a burden that was never theirs to carry alone.
They have shown resilience in the face of criticism. They have demonstrated professionalism under extraordinary strain. They have continued to serve, even when it was difficult.
They have held the line.
After a decade, they deserve not only our understanding, but our respect, and the concrete support required to finally put this chapter behind them.
For ten years, they have done their part.
It is time for leadership to do the same.
Bruce Roy
National President
National President
Government Services Union
Public Service Alliance of Canada