Response from the Chief Human Resources Officer

Ms. Debi Daviau
President
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada
250 Tremblay Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K1G 3J8

Dear Ms. Daviau,

First and foremost, I would like to reiterate my congratulations to your re-appointment as President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, and express my gratitude for your support and kind words in your welcoming letter and our first meeting. I look forward to working with you and your team in my capacity as the Chief Human Resources Officer, as we work together to support a strong and proud Public Service of Canada.

I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the issues outlined in your letter dated September 11, 2018 and will support the priorities being worked on collaboratively by our respective offices.

As you noted in your letters dated October 15, 2018 and October 18, 2018, the Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) is a valuable tool which provides a holistic view of employee perception of their workforce, workplace and leadership conditions. I highly value and respect the work of public servants and your support in encouraging your members’ participation is essential and appreciated.

The Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) carefully examined all options to administer the 2018 PSES, and engaged Advanis for the data collection, as this service provider offers timely provision of survey results, and a reasonable administration cost. Please rest assured that we continue to work closely with Statistics Canada, one of our key partners, to develop technologically advanced tools to provide valuable survey information to departments and agencies. Statistics Canada has vast knowledge in the domains of survey administration and results analysis, and TBS intends to continue to leverage this expertise and valued long-standing relationship.

To your point on the clarity of terms used in the PSES, I agree that it is important that survey questions be as clear as possible to yield meaningful results. We will continue to conduct focus-group testing for all new and modified questions as a standard practice, and will review all questions and definitions, including those you mentioned, in an effort to provide additional precision in the terms used in the survey.

Once again, thank you for your letters and I look forward to our ongoing collaboration.

Sincerely,

Nancy Chahwan
Chief Human Resources Officer

Published on 28 November 2018

3 November 2017

Phoenix and the status of retroactive pay

We have received several inquiries about the impact of the Phoenix pay system on retroactive pay for members who signed new collective agreements this year.

27 October 2017

Treasury Board agrees to negotiate better birth control coverage for public service employees

After years of advocacy, the Treasury Board has agreed to negotiate the addition of non-oral contraceptives to the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP).

6 October 2017

Words to Live By

Radio-Canada and the CBC have reported this week that Phoenix was “doomed from the start.” The reason? The business case prepared in 2009 under the previous government “lacked proper risk analysis and was politically motivated.” In the words of former parliamentary budget officer Kevin Page, “You look at this business case, you can drive trucks through some of the holes under the risk analysis.”

3 October 2017

PSPC releases latest Pay Bulletin

In light of the Phoenix fiasco and as part of a commitment made to bargaining agents to make it easier for their members to obtain information about their pay, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSCPC) has just released its Pay Bulletin for September.

2 October 2017

Institute files two new policy grievances over Phoenix

The Institute has just filed two new policy grievances on Phoenix-related issues, accusing the Treasury Board of failing to implement the terms of the AV and SP Group collective agreements within the specified timeframe (120 and 90 days respectively).

29 September 2017

The Phoenix Pay System’s Not-So-Golden Handshake

While much has been reported about the impact of the Phoenix pay system on current federal employees, comparatively little has been said about the harm done to retirees.