Officials apologize as more than 80,000 civil servants have issue getting paid
OTTAWA — The federal government apologized Monday for a mammoth problem with its new pay system that has impacted more than one-quarter of its roughly 300,000 employees, some who say they’ve been forced into dire financial circumstances.
Some 400 civil servants can expect emergency payments by the middle of next week but government officials said it could take months to fully correct the system.
In the meantime, the government is exploring ways it can compensate employees for out-of-pocket expenses resulting from the pay predicament, such as reimbursements for bank and credit card fees.
“I’ll apologize to anyone who’s suffering hardship, financial or other, with no problem,” Marie Lemay, deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement, said.