Sask. Health Authority's new payroll system leaves health-care worker without a cheque for 5 weeks
Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) launched in June
A long-awaited new payroll and scheduling software is continuing to cause problems for health-care workers in Saskatchewan, despite the health authority insisting that the rollout has been successful.
One woman says she hasn't been paid in five weeks and there's no clear indication on when she'll start receiving the money she's owed.
"I have not been paid at all for any of the hours that I've worked for July and August, and I do work full time," said Zoe Barclay-Wright on Tuesday.
She's been on contract as an autism interventionist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) for two years.
Barclay-Wright said she loves her job, the people she works with and the patients she helps. That's why it's frustrating to not be paid for her hard work.
"You're just left having to start maybe looking at other jobs because you can't work for free forever. I'm sure they'll pay us at some point, but we're not really sure when it will come through," she said.
'We don't really know who to turn to': Barclay-Wright
The SHA began rolling out the Administrative Information Management System (AIMS) this summer.
Barclay-Wright isn't the only worker who hasn't been paid as a result of the new system.
CUPE and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), which represent health workers across the province, have previously gone public with concerns about AIMS.
The SHA has previously insisted that the rollout of the program has been successful. It did not respond to a series of questions for this story by time of publication on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, both unions confirmed their members continue to experience issues.
"Despite officials from the Saskatchewan Health Authority claiming that AIMS payroll issues would be remedied weeks ago, CUPE health workers are continuing to be short hours on their paycheques," said a CUPE spokesperson.
SUN confirmed that since AIMS was launched in June 2024, its members haved raised more than 200 concerns about the program, including partially or completely missed pay.
"After consultation with our legal counsel, SUN has now formalized these concerns with the SHA through our grievance process," said a spokesperson for the union.
As a contract worker, Barclay-Wright doesn't belong to a union.
She said some of her coworkers have received some pay, while she has received nothing.
Barclay-Wright said she has spoken with her direct supervisors about the lack of payment. Although they've been sympathetic, there's been no change and her efforts to contact administrators of the new AIMS program have gone nowhere, she said.
"All we have is an email address for them. We don't know their names, we don't have an address, we don't know their phone number. So we don't really know who to turn to," said Barclay-Wright.
She wants someone to be held accountable and make sure she gets paid.
Payroll systems are complicated: expert
David Gerhard, a professor in computer science at the University of Manitoba, said payroll systems are complicated because multiple things such as health benefits, taxes and union dues must be accounted for.
Although he's unfamiliar with the specific of AIMS, he pointed to the challenge governments face when attempting to implement new software.
"Their processes for choosing a vendor require them to be as fiscally responsible with money as possible, which means they often will buy from the lowest bidder," Gerhard said. "Which if you've ever been involved in software, the lowest bidder is not necessarily the person that is going to deliver the product at the best possible quality."
AIMS was meant to replace 80 existing systems and improve "data accuracy [and] reliability" while benefiting employees, clients, patients, residents and families, according to a website about the system. It was originally meant to roll out in 2021. However, it was delayed until November 2022, then delayed further due to widespread functionality errors related to pay and scheduling, before being re-launched on June 24, 2024.
The cost of the project eventually ballooned from an expected $86 million to a projected $240 million. The delays and cost increases led the provincial auditor to recommend that the SHA conduct a "lessons learned report" for the AIMS rollout.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Adam Hunter, Aishwarya Dudha