Civilian employees with the RCMP will not be moved to the troubled Phoenix pay system, according to the national police force and Treasury Board of Canada.

The change in May would have affected approximately 4,000 civilian RCMP employees, including emergency dispatchers and electronic surveillance analysts.

According to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the federal government was pondering the change less than a month ago.

CUPE said employees were worried about joining a pay system that "continues to cause Canadians irreparable financial difficulties, psychological stress and destroys people's lives."

Tens of thousands of workers have been stung by Phoenix, the IBM-customized system that went live four years ago.

Some have gone months with little or no pay, while others have been overpaid, complicating their personal finances.

Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos said in an email to Radio-Canada the government heard the concerns of staffers and their union and, along with the public safety minister, has decided not to go ahead.