Earlier in the news, you heard the Health Minister point fingers at the previous government for allowing a major backlog of unpaid overtime that is due to the public servants who work within the Ministry of Health. He asserted that his government working to pay what is owed, but public officers insist otherwise.
Moreover, the PSU President says that the government is attempting to, quote, "cheat public officers out of their hard-earned overtime hours which they are literally forced to work." End quote.
A new overtime claim form has been implemented for essential workers - allegedly without consultation with the union - and there is a dispute over a new classification of the overtime hours.
Here's our discussion with the Minister on over-time pay:
Reporter
"Are we reducing the overtime payment issue that you said you inherited, but which persists, according to the PSU?"
Hon. Michel Chebat - Ministry of Health and Wellness
"Well, it does not persist. We have been constantly paying. I can. There is a bit of a backlog because there was some confusion, Marisol, in the documents in the claim. And so but over three weeks ago, there was a meeting where the finance officer, the people at Treasury, and the people from the Ministry of Health, the financial officers, and the administrative officers, sat down and decided on how the forms were to be filled out. So we don't expect that there should be any more overtime owing."
