MIRAMICHI, New Brunswick, September 23, 2013 – The Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency), and Tilly O’Neill Gordon, Member of Parliament for Miramichi, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, today officially welcomed an additional 197 employees to the Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi.
“I am pleased to announce another important milestone in the Consolidation of Pay Services Project,”
said Minister Moore. “The hiring of nearly 200 employees and the opening of this second interim facility for the Public Service Pay Centre are major steps toward achieving our objective of improving efficiency in the administration of public service pay.”
“Our Government is focused on boosting economic growth and creating good jobs right here in our community,”
said Member of Parliament O’Neill Gordon. “This pay centre will create sustainable employment in the area and will have a positive impact on residents and businesses in Miramichi and across northeastern New Brunswick.”
As a part of the Government of Canada’s overall initiative to increase the effectiveness of public service operations and reduce operational costs, it is consolidating pay administration services for public servants into a single pay centre located in Miramichi.
The Mill site, formerly known as the UPM-Kymmene Paper Mill, will accommodate the new employees and joins the first interim location at the Miramichi Mall, which already houses 146 employees. By 2015, a total of 550 public service employees will offer pay services in Miramichi through these interim facilities until the construction of a permanent Public Service Pay Centre building is completed in 2017.
An open house for the public will be held at the building, 345 Curtis Road, Miramichi, N.B., on Saturday, September 28 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
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As part of the Government of Canada’s overall initiative to increase the efficiency of public service operations and reduce operational costs, Public Works and Government Services Canada is consolidating pay administration services for public servants into a single pay centre located in Miramichi, New Brunswick.
The pay services of 57 departments using, or planning to use, the Government of Canada Human Resources Management System (PeopleSoft) are being gradually transferred over a four-year period that started in May 2012. Approximately 30,000 employees from 39 departments and agencies will be receiving their pay services from the pay centre in Miramichi starting in late October.
The Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative will generate $78 million in annual savings starting in 2016–17. It includes replacing the government’s outdated, 40-year-old pay system with more efficient and modern technology, as well as implementing standardized business processes.
The establishment of the Public Service Pay Centre in Miramichi will create up to 550 public service jobs in Miramichi starting in 2012 and it is expected to reach its full staff complement in 2015.
A first wave of 146 employees was hired in March 2012 and is temporarily located in the Miramichi Business Complex (formerly known as the Miramichi Mall). The employees began to actively deliver pay services in May 2012. An additional 197 Public Service Pay Centre employees have now been hired, for a total of 343 employees, of which 264 are new recruits in the public service.
A lease contract was awarded on July 29, 2013, to New Brunswick-owned Provincial Holdings Ltd., to accommodate the second wave of 197 employees. The second interim building, known as the Mill Site (formerly known as the UPM-Kymmene Paper Mill), is also located in Miramichi and has been renovated to welcome the new employees.
On December 13, 2012, after a fair, open and transparent process, the Government of Canada purchased land located at 24 Church Street in the heart of Miramichi from the Miramichi Agricultural Exhibition Association for the future site of the Public Service Pay Centre to permanently accommodate the 550 employees. Work is now underway to select a successful proponent to design, construct, operate and maintain a building for the Public Service Pay Centre. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2014. The new facility is expected to be open in 2017.
