This may be a timely occasion to repost an explanation of who gets spec pay and why. I'm going to put a couple of pertinent points in yellow and bold them.
I think the main reason that the Nav Comms have been unsuccessful at getting spec pay is that while IT is somewhat technical, it's not proving to be something that is draining skilled members from the CF so is not a retention problem. You can't swing a stick at a job fair without hitting someone with systems administration experience, so is there really any need for Nav Comms to be getting spec pay? That may hurt a few feelings, but it's the truth. It's too soon to tell if the IST sub-occ of ACISS will suffer the same fate, but I know where my bet is going...
From http://cmp-cpm.forces.mil.ca/dgcb/dppd/pay/engraph/specpay_article_e.asp?sidesection=3
Specialist Pay - How Does it Work?
Recently at the Directorate of Pay Policy and Development (DPPD) we have received a lot of questions about Specialist pay, how it works and why it is paid. This article will help to answer some of those questions.
Historical Context- With the integration of the Army, Navy and Air Force into the Canadian Armed Forces in the late 1960s, trades were combined and their numbers drastically reduced. There were, however, numerous pay fields, which meant that members working side by side, in similar environmental conditions, sometimes with the same skill sets, were being paid differently. This caused great morale problems and led to the 1972-73 review and job evaluation process called the Canadian Forces Trade Evaluation Plan (CFTEP). As a result of this review, the CF adopted an “institutional” pay system, meaning that everyone at the same rank, regardless of occupation, generally receives the same rate of pay. This is called the rank-based, team concept. In 1975, the team concept grouped the majority of all trades into one pay field: the Standard Trade Group. Nevertheless, given the market reality that certain trades require highly technical training and are therefore attractive to the private sector, two additional pay fields were added for the purpose of attraction and retention: Specialist 1 and Specialist 2 Trade Groups. Roughly one-quarter of NCM trades fall into the latter two categories.
How are occupations (MOCS) assigned to a pay group?-The CFTEP is a Treasury Board approved methodology similar to that used in the Public Service, that is used to evaluate an occupation’s predominant jobs (the descriptions of these predominant jobs are referred to as PJDs) for the purposes of assignment to a pay group. The CFTEP is a point score system. Nine factors are evaluated: Comprehension and Judgement, Trade Training and Experience, Responsibility sub-divided into resources, services and safety of others, Effort sub-divided into mental and physical effort and Working Conditions again sub-divided into environmental and hazards.
The Technical Stuff- Job evaluations are completed by a board that usually consists of at least three members usually military officers who are trained in classification jobs and job evaluation who review the PJDs for an occupation based on the factors identified above and assign points. The PJDs are provided to the Directorate of Pay, Policy and Development (DPPD) by the occupation’s Branch Advisor and Managing Authority. An occupation’s predominant jobs are those that an experienced Cpl (normally a Cpl IPC 4, that is a Cpl with at least 8 years of military experience from enrolment) or MCpl is expected to complete on a regular basis within the occupation. When all predominant jobs within an occupation are evaluated, an overall occupation score is determined by calculating a weighted average for all corporals employed in the predominant jobs. For example, if only 25% of the members of an occupation performed a job that scored high enough to achieve Specialist Pay, whether or not the whole occupation would receive Specialist Pay would be determined by the resulting mathematical score.
Occupationally Qualified- Until recently, technological limitations in the CF pay system did not allow a means of differentiating between “occupation qualified” IAW occupation specifications and “non-occupation-qualified” members for the purposes of pay. Therefore, if you became a Cpl in an occupation that was assigned to a Specialist Pay Trade Group you were paid Spec pay, whether you were qualified to do the job or not. The administration of Specialist Pay was challenged in the 2003 Chief of Review Services Report on the basis that personnel who were not qualified were in receipt of Specialist pay. Consequently, changes to the CF pay system , and the introduction of the Occupation Structure Implementation Plan (OSIP) in Aug 04, have now afforded us the opportunity to rectify this situation in ensuring that Specialist Pay is administered appropriately. As of 1 Aug 04, if you are not qualified to do the job in accordance with the occupation requirements and specifications provided by your branch’s Managing Authority, then you are not be entitled to receive Specialist Pay,
Burning Questions- Here are some of the burning questions we often receive at DPPD:
“Although we are different occupations, right now I am doing the same job as another Cpl, how come my occupation is in the Standard Pay Group while his gets Spec pay?”
Based on the Treasury Board approved methodology of how we do job evaluations and the whole concept of the weighted average you can see that in the CF we do not pay members based on individual qualifications, but on the requirements of the occupation. In this case, although some tasks may be similar in different occupations, in order to receive Specialist pay, the majority of members of a Spec pay occupation must be doing jobs that score in the Spec pay range in accordance with the CFTEP methodology.
“I know that my job requires more skills than another occupation’s jobs, how come we both get Spec 1 Pay, shouldn’t my occupation get Spec 2 instead?”
Another important point to note is that it doesn’t matter whether an occupation just barely makes the score for Specialist 1 pay or scores almost but not quite high enough to achieve Specialist 2 pay, they both receive Specialist 1 pay. This follows the lines of high school grading in that a 79% is a B, as is a 71%.
“I used to be in the Reg F and my occupation received Spec pay. Now I am in the Res F why don’t I get Spec pay, I still hold the same qualifications?”
There are two sides to the answer to this question. First, as mentioned earlier, the CF does not pay members based on individual qualifications, but on the requirements of the occupation. Although similar to those in the Reg F, Res F occupation requirements are not always exactly the same and therefore may not evaluate at the Specialist Pay Trade Group. Second, in order for an occupation to receive Specialist pay, it must have scored in the Specialist pay range, and, it must be assigned to the Specialist Pay Trade Group by the CDS. In order for this to occur, the Branch Advisor or Managing Authority must have submitted it for evaluation. There are only seven Reserve occupations that have successfully undergone the process and been assigned to a Specialist Pay Trade Group.