The 620 employees of pharmaceutical giant GSK in Quebec City are experiencing major pay problems, exactly three years after a similar debacle occurred in March 2021. At the time, their union compared the situation to the misfortunes involving Phoenix, the infamous pay system for employees of the federal government.
These employees, who are working on producing flu vaccines, began noticing numerous pay errors starting in January 2024, at which time Workday, a new pay management platform, was implemented. Some are not receiving their full pay or are seeing unauthorized deductions from their pay. Some records of employment are not always being submitted by legally prescribed deadlines, and other employees have even received blank tax statements.
“Some employees can’t pay their bills, which has caused major stress to them personally and to their families,” explained Pascal Pouliot, president of CUPE 3783, which represents GSK workers.
This is attributable to the fact that most of the pay system is located outside the country. To rectify any pay problems, employees must complete an electronic request form known as a ticket. The answer is often late in arriving or irrelevant to the question asked.
Pouliot asks that GSK reverse its decision and establish reliable pay and human resources services at the Quebec City site. This will prevent or result in effective corrections of pay problems and create jobs. “Our members must have access to these resource persons who have an extensive knowledge of the collective agreement and the specificities of language matters and labour law in Quebec,” he added.