Federal employees block access to Montreal building in protest against Phoenix pay system

A group of protesters blocked access to the federal building on the corner of Peel and Saint-Jacques streets Wednesday morning to express their continued frustrationwith the government's Phoenix pay system.

Several hundred employees came from across the province to take part in the demonstration.

The Phoenix pay system has been plagued with problems for two years, and thousands of federal public servantshave complained of beingunderpaid, overpaidor not paid at all.

The 2018-19 budget calls for an additional $431 million to address problems created by Phoenix, totalling almost$900 million in taxpayer money that has been poured into the system which the government eventually plans to scrap altogether.

• Phoenix fix approaching $1B as feds look at scrapping system

Protesters with AFPC-Quebec, the local branch of thePublic Service Alliance of Canada, waved flags, banged drums and held signs appealing to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to act faster.

"Despite the announcement made in the budget yesterday, the fact remains that the system is a nightmare for our members for the last two years. Our patience has its limits," said regional vice president of AFPC-Quebec, Magali Picard, in a statement.

Picardtold CBC that some employees have not received their tax forms from 2016 and that the government's investment isn't good enough.

"What can we say this morning to all those workers who don't have any paycheque?" she said. "There's no answer in this budget."

The federal budget also earmarks $16 million to begin the process of replacing the flawed system.

Most of the new funding is to be spent over six years for hiring additional staff to work on pay issues at the central pay centre and its satellite offices, as well as for more staff within departments to better assist employees with pay problems.

• Correcting Phoenix: Collecting overpayments from workers easier said than done