Possible Strike Action by IRCC employees starting mid-April

[johnjkjk]

It still had to be clarified because your statement may have caused more panic to those of us (I'm also assuming yourself) who are waiting for our oaths to take place or possible cancellation for a new date once the strike is resolved. This is the ceremonies thread after all

No, I'm still waiting for a decision in spite of urgent processing. So I am very upset by this strike action.

my bad, I thought this is a general thread on strike action. Certainly the initial impact will be felt by cancelled ceremonies, but that's a short term issue. I'm sure they'll find a way to reschedule oaths (bigger ceremonies/self declaration etc) as this is separate from processing.

But as per the minister's statement, case processing Will be severely affected. It's unfair if they put that burden on us who are almost at oath. before the strike, I was expecting oath soon. Now it could be pushed back a year- who knows.

 

[irinaaas11]

No, I'm still waiting for a decision in spite of urgent processing. So I am very upset by this strike action.

my bad, I thought this is a general thread on strike action. Certainly the initial impact will be felt by cancelled ceremonies, but that's a short term issue. I'm sure they'll find a way to reschedule oaths (bigger ceremonies/self declaration etc) as this is separate from processing.

But as per the minister's statement, case processing Will be severely affected. It's unfair if they put that burden on us who are almost at oath. before the strike, I was expecting oath soon. Now it could be pushed back a year- who knows.

Depends on the backlog. My bf missed his first ceremony due to timezone (it was MTD and we live in Vancouver - PST) by one hour and he got rescheduled 2 months later, but when you have hundreds if not thousands of people waiting to be rescheduled, that might take at least 6 months to clear the backlog.
Unless they approve the self-administered oath legislation.

 

[sumeet169]

Depends on the backlog. My bf missed his first ceremony due to timezone (it was MTD and we live in Vancouver - PST) by one hour and he got rescheduled 2 months later, but when you have hundreds if not thousands of people waiting to be rescheduled, that might take at least 6 months to clear the backlog.
Unless they approve the self-administered oath legislation.

You have to think that during this time none of the applications moved so theres a chance that the ceremonies be moved only by the number of days the strike goes on

 

[irinaaas11]

You have to think that during this time none of the applications moved so theres a chance that the ceremonies be moved only by the number of days the strike goes on

I received updates on my sponsorship application on April 19th and 20th so some officers are still working (the ones on a temporary contract), but IRCC is known for not processing applications on a first-come-first-served basis so it wouldn't surprise me if the ones that got their ceremonies canceled go back to the end of the line and wait 6-12 months to be rescheduled.

 

[Cece450]

I received updates on my sponsorship application on April 19th and 20th so some officers are still working (the ones on a temporary contract), but IRCC is known for not processing applications on a first-come-first-served basis so it wouldn't surprise me if the ones that got their ceremonies canceled go back to the end of the line and wait 6-12 months to be rescheduled.

This will depend on the scheduling office as well. Some offices work faster than others. At this point it's all speculation and we can't know for sure until the strike is over. We can only hope for the best possible outcome.

 

[Cece450]

No, I'm still waiting for a decision in spite of urgent processing. So I am very upset by this strike action.

my bad, I thought this is a general thread on strike action. Certainly the initial impact will be felt by cancelled ceremonies, but that's a short term issue. I'm sure they'll find a way to reschedule oaths (bigger ceremonies/self declaration etc) as this is separate from processing.

But as per the minister's statement, case processing Will be severely affected. It's unfair if they put that burden on us who are almost at oath. before the strike, I was expecting oath soon. Now it could be pushed back a year- who knows.

That must be so frustrating. However, some good news is some officers are still working. I'm on another forum where peoples trackers are still being updated and they are getting their ceremonies scheduled for May, even during the strike. So applications haven't halted completely. Fingers crossed for you and all of us.

 

[Cece450]

No, I'm still waiting for a decision in spite of urgent processing. So I am very upset by this strike action.

my bad, I thought this is a general thread on strike action. Certainly the initial impact will be felt by cancelled ceremonies, but that's a short term issue. I'm sure they'll find a way to reschedule oaths (bigger ceremonies/self declaration etc) as this is separate from processing.

But as per the minister's statement, case processing Will be severely affected. It's unfair if they put that burden on us who are almost at oath. before the strike, I was expecting oath soon. Now it could be pushed back a year- who knows.

Also, chances are you've already been granted citizenship, but your tracker hasn't been updated yet. My citizenship was granted on January 30th and then it was sent to the scheduling office, but I didn't get any updates until March 9th with my ceremony date. So you never know!

 

[PianoTiger]

No, I'm still waiting for a decision in spite of urgent processing. So I am very upset by this strike action.

Did you ever get response after you submitted a request for urgent processing? I submitted mine, got an acknowledgement soon after but radio silence after...

 

[walter_white]

I know someone who works for the government and what he mentioned was that even those who go on strike are supposed to work 40% of their time. So it's possibly not a complete halt, but significant delay in processing. Probably oaths that are scheduled in hours that the employees strike are being rescheduled.

 

[cara269]

Is Citizenship Judges and officials that administer the citizenship oath are on strike also , the reason for cancelled victual appointment's. Judges and Officials pay grade are very high with lots of benefits not like the permeant IRCC staff that's on strike . So they "the government" hire temporary staff that's not in any part of the union , working as normal to deal with visas ,passport backlogs etc. Why they ain't allocate Citizenship temporary staff to deal with the IT stuff like the work with the immigration Judges , zoom meetings and mailing out the certificates ,Guessing that's what the permanent staff do and deal with this strike situation, just my 2 cents .

 

[sumeet169]

I know someone who works for the government and what he mentioned was that even those who go on strike are supposed to work 40% of their time. So it's possibly not a complete halt, but significant delay in processing. Probably oaths that are scheduled in hours that the employees strike are being rescheduled.

Wow!! I didnt know they were suppose to still work

 

[sumeet169]

Is Citizenship Judges and officials that administer the citizenship oath are on strike also , the reason for cancelled victual appointment's. Judges and Officials pay grade are very high with lots of benefits not like the permeant IRCC staff that's on strike . So they "the government" hire temporary staff that's not in any part of the union , working as normal to deal with visas ,passport backlogs etc. Why they ain't allocate Citizenship temporary staff to deal with the IT stuff like the work with the immigration Judges , zoom meetings and mailing out the certificates ,Guessing that's what the permanent staff do and deal with this strike situation, just my 2 cents .

Yeah, thats what I thought it should have happened. To have a backup plan in case of strike. To manage some sense of continuity

 

[irinaaas11]

I know someone who works for the government and what he mentioned was that even those who go on strike are supposed to work 40% of their time. So it's possibly not a complete halt, but significant delay in processing. Probably oaths that are scheduled in hours that the employees strike are being rescheduled.

I couldn't verify this information on the mighty Google, but I did find this:

"We are aware of emails from the employer encouraging PSAC members to continue working in the event of a strike. This is a classic and often seen union-busting tactic that aims to undermine our efforts to secure a fair agreement for all workers — including wages that keep up with the rising cost of living and don’t force you to take a pay cut.

Any member who works during a strike, including working remotely, betrays the entire bargaining unit. Crossing a picket line, whether in person or remotely, weakens our bargaining position and can cause the strike to last longer or result in a deal that’s less than workers deserve. It could also have long-term impacts on the working relationships between the coworkers who held the line and made sacrifices to get a good deal for everyone, and those who sided with the employer.

Members who cross the picket line by performing work for the employer could face fines and suspension of membership privileges. PSAC’s Constitution outlines disciplinary action that can be taken against members, including “a fine that equals the amount of daily renumeration earned by the member, multiplied by the number of days that the member crossed the picket line, performed work for the employer, or voluntarily performed struck work.”

So I don't think they work 40% of the time.

 

[sumeet169]

I couldn't verify this information on the mighty Google, but I did find this:

"We are aware of emails from the employer encouraging PSAC members to continue working in the event of a strike. This is a classic and often seen union-busting tactic that aims to undermine our efforts to secure a fair agreement for all workers — including wages that keep up with the rising cost of living and don’t force you to take a pay cut.

Any member who works during a strike, including working remotely, betrays the entire bargaining unit. Crossing a picket line, whether in person or remotely, weakens our bargaining position and can cause the strike to last longer or result in a deal that’s less than workers deserve. It could also have long-term impacts on the working relationships between the coworkers who held the line and made sacrifices to get a good deal for everyone, and those who sided with the employer.

Members who cross the picket line by performing work for the employer could face fines and suspension of membership privileges. PSAC’s Constitution outlines disciplinary action that can be taken against members, including “a fine that equals the amount of daily renumeration earned by the member, multiplied by the number of days that the member crossed the picket line, performed work for the employer, or voluntarily performed struck work.”

So I don't think they work 40% of the time.

I think they work 40% of the time when there's no strike

 

[irinaaas11]

I think they work 40% of the time when there's no strike

That would make more sense, yes