External employees quadrupled their hourly rate to $350, SAAQ commission hears
The hourly rate charged by external employees working on the IT modernization of the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec increased significantly, from $82 to $350 per hour, during the first year of the project.
This was revealed by documents presented Thursday morning to the Gallant Commission, which is investigating the failures of the government corporation's digital transformation, including the SAAQclic platform.
A former SAAQ internal auditor, Martin Després, testified to commissioner Denis Gallant that he noticed a change in the hourly rate of external employees as early as 2018, the year after the contract was awarded.
These workers hired by suppliers had the lowest rate stipulated in the contract, $82 per hour, which is associated with the technology integration job profile. They saw their hourly rate climb to one of the highest levels, $350 per hour, linked to 'leading-edge expertise.'
Such a change in salary scale was observed in the same billing period, noted Després, who worked for the SAAQ from 2016 to 2023.
Després explained that he had not noticed any 'significant difference' in their tasks that could explain an increase in the hourly rate.
Initially, the suppliers' quotes anticipated the use of nearly 10,800 hours for 'advanced expertise' at $350 per hour over five years. About three years after the contract began, in February 2020, the project had consumed nearly 35,000 hours for this type of profile, according to a cost analysis by Després.
The SAAQ's technological modernization project could cost at least $1.1 billion by 2027, or $500 million more than expected, according to the auditor general.
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