Canada strike impact the visa processing time
- Thread starter moniqueyu
- Start date
Thanks NNL, I copy the news below.NNL said:
News
20 June 2013 - Canada’s Foreign Service Officers announce additional pickets in Ottawa and escalated service withdrawals
As part of ongoing job action to bring Treasury Board back to the negotiating table to address wage inequities, Canada’s Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) announced ‘information pickets’ to be held Thursday, June 20th in downtown Ottawa and further withdrawals of service in key international locations.
“The escalated scope and intensity of service withdrawals this month are a direct consequence of the federal government’s refusal to engage meaningfully with its employees on the issue of pay equity,” said Tim Edwards, PAFSO President. “While we’re eager to get back to work, these disruptions will continue until the Treasury Board offers a fair deal to our members.”
PAFSO officials estimate that job action by immigration officers has resulted in major delays to application processing and a significant drop in the number of visas being issued. These impacts will be felt directly by Canada’s tourism industry, educational institutions, and businesses relying on temporary foreign workers. The Department of Citizenship & Immigration’s decision to shift non-striking resources toward visa processing will also result in significant processing delays to applications for permanent residency. In addition, a number of ministerial and parliamentary visits abroad have been shortened or cancelled in recent weeks and negotiations with key trading partners delayed as a result of these rotating strikes. Foreign Service Officers play a central role in organizing and executing high-level visits and negotiating trade agreements on Canada’s behalf.
As of today, all eligible members are striking in the following locations: Manila, Beijing, Bangkok, Jakarta, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Chongqing and Astana. Immigration officers are striking in Delhi, Chandigarh, London, Moscow and Mexico City. In Tokyo, economic officers are also on strike. Additional withdrawals of service are impacting dozens of divisions at CIC and DFAIT headquarters in Ottawa.
“Resolving this situation would cost less than 2.5% of the total Foreign Service payroll – a tiny fraction of the economic impact that the Government’s inflexibility is creating,” said Tim Edwards, PAFSO president. “We will keep up pressure until the Government recognizes the tremendous value and dedication Foreign Service officers bring to Canadians and to our elected representatives.”
The main issue at hand remains PAFSO's request for equal pay for equal work. Specifically, the union is seeking wage adjustments to keep Foreign Service officer pay in line with comparable employment groups in the federal government, including lawyers, economists, policy analysts, and commerce officers.
PAFSO members in the National Capital Region will be holding an information picket Thursday, June 20th 2013, from 11:00 to 13:30 in front of Treasury Board Secretariat offices at 140 O’Connor St
I am still wondering as to how this is impacting anyone whose Permanent Residency application is waiting to be processed. It mentions certain offices in Asia and Europe, but nothing about offices intake offices in Canada, if I am not mistaken. Has anyone been directly affected by this ongoing strike. How much delay can this cause in the processing visas, any ideas anyone ?
Latest news report - Pulished on July 29th 2013:
OTTAWA — Canadian universities and tourism operators are bracing for disaster as foreign service workers walked off the job Monday at 15 of the busiest international visa offices as part of an expanding job action that could last until the end of the year.
“We are disappointed the union has walked away from the mediation process, just as we were profoundly disappointed that they purposefully chose this time of year for their action — when we have the highest volume of both visitor and student visas,” Tourism Industry Association of Canada president David Goldstein said.
“Management at (Citizenship and Immigration) is doing their best to deal with the backlog but at this point in the season, it’s like pushing the ocean back with a broom.”
Since contract negotiations reached an impasse and strikes broke out — initially at about six foreign visa offices — Goldstein has received dozens of emails from concerned tourism operators. Even a major sporting event — the International Children’s Games taking place Aug. 14-19 in Windsor, Ont. — was impacted, he said, noting the event had to be scaled back after a handful of countries pulled out because participants couldn’t get visas to come to Canada.
He estimates the strike could cost the industry about $18 million a week.
That said, the tourism industry has made no decisions yet on what it might do to mitigate the situation — for example, whether it will target through advertising U.S. visitors and others who don’t require a visa to come to Canada.
“We are currently assessing the situation and will be writing to the government in the coming days with recommendations on how to restore service in the short-term and stem some of the reputational damage to Canada in the longer term” he said.
Canada issued about 1.2 million visitor visas last year. Canada also welcomed a record number of international students in 2012, upwards of 100,000 — a 60 per cent increase over 2004 levels.
Noting the last federal budget specifically earmarked cash to attract foreign students — $23 million over two years — Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada president Paul Davidson said all that could be for naught.
Students that have received offers from schools in the U.S. and Britain, as well as Canada, will most certainly seek the path of least resistance, he said, noting students will go elsewhere if forced to wait weeks or months for a visa and risk missing the start of classes.
He also noted this year’s losses actually represent a four-year loss since students who pursue their studies elsewhere are unlikely to switch schools and countries part way through.
Canada’s reputation as a world-class destination for higher education is ultimately at stake, he argued, adding that will affect Canada’s bottom line since foreign students contribute nearly $8 billion annually to the economy.
“International students have a lot of choice, their parents have a lot of choice and if the word is out that it’s awkward or difficult or unpredictable about visa processing, it’s just is another real impediment to attracting those students to Canada,” he said.
Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) president Timothy Edwards said the latest job action has taken about 150 foreign visa officers off the job. About 65 were deemed “essential” and are continuing to process visa applications.
He estimates the cuts will lead, on average, to a 25 per cent drop in the number of visas issued per week. In the largest centres like Beijing, Manila, New Delhi and Mexico City, visa processing is expected to drop as much as 65 per cent.
Despite mitigation efforts by the government, he said “there’s simply no way to make up the deficit.”
“We’re talking about tens of thousands of visas not being issued per week,” he said, adding the backlogs already rose about 20 per cent per week through June.
He said the union is prepared to keep up the fight until the end of the calendar year.
According to Immigration and Citizenship, visa offices remain open and about 1,000 staff are still providing services to clients. Alexis Pavlich, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said additional staff are being hired and others are being trained to handle the actual processing of visas.
Applicants are being urged to submit their paperwork well in advance and would-be students are being urged to seek letters from their institution advising authorities that they’d be permitted to start the school year late, if need be.
Noting the department had a 10 day standard for issuing visitors visas, Goldstein said a CIC advisory issued when the job action first started in China and Mexico suggested visa processing could take as long as six weeks as a result. CIC has yet to update its processing times at foreign visa officer.
Union efforts to seek binding arbitration with the federal government broke down Friday. The government would only agree to the plan if the union would submit to six preconditions. PAFSO would only agree to three.
The union is seeking wage parity with counterparts in other federal departments who, the union argues, make as much as $14,000 more for comparable work.
The government argues foreign service workers have unique jobs that cannot be compared to other public service workers.
Visitor and work visas processed at 15 affected offices in 2012:
Abu Dhabi 22,175
Ankara 23,058
Beijing 181,797
Cairo 9,692
Delhi 98,483
Chandigarh 34,874
Hong Kong 12,485
London 24,692
Manila 52,453
Mexico City 97,585
Moscow 26,322
Paris 43,094
Riyadh 16,556
Sao Paulo 73,595
Shanghai 53,770
OTTAWA — Canadian universities and tourism operators are bracing for disaster as foreign service workers walked off the job Monday at 15 of the busiest international visa offices as part of an expanding job action that could last until the end of the year.
“We are disappointed the union has walked away from the mediation process, just as we were profoundly disappointed that they purposefully chose this time of year for their action — when we have the highest volume of both visitor and student visas,” Tourism Industry Association of Canada president David Goldstein said.
“Management at (Citizenship and Immigration) is doing their best to deal with the backlog but at this point in the season, it’s like pushing the ocean back with a broom.”
Since contract negotiations reached an impasse and strikes broke out — initially at about six foreign visa offices — Goldstein has received dozens of emails from concerned tourism operators. Even a major sporting event — the International Children’s Games taking place Aug. 14-19 in Windsor, Ont. — was impacted, he said, noting the event had to be scaled back after a handful of countries pulled out because participants couldn’t get visas to come to Canada.
He estimates the strike could cost the industry about $18 million a week.
That said, the tourism industry has made no decisions yet on what it might do to mitigate the situation — for example, whether it will target through advertising U.S. visitors and others who don’t require a visa to come to Canada.
“We are currently assessing the situation and will be writing to the government in the coming days with recommendations on how to restore service in the short-term and stem some of the reputational damage to Canada in the longer term” he said.
Canada issued about 1.2 million visitor visas last year. Canada also welcomed a record number of international students in 2012, upwards of 100,000 — a 60 per cent increase over 2004 levels.
Noting the last federal budget specifically earmarked cash to attract foreign students — $23 million over two years — Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada president Paul Davidson said all that could be for naught.
Students that have received offers from schools in the U.S. and Britain, as well as Canada, will most certainly seek the path of least resistance, he said, noting students will go elsewhere if forced to wait weeks or months for a visa and risk missing the start of classes.
He also noted this year’s losses actually represent a four-year loss since students who pursue their studies elsewhere are unlikely to switch schools and countries part way through.
Canada’s reputation as a world-class destination for higher education is ultimately at stake, he argued, adding that will affect Canada’s bottom line since foreign students contribute nearly $8 billion annually to the economy.
“International students have a lot of choice, their parents have a lot of choice and if the word is out that it’s awkward or difficult or unpredictable about visa processing, it’s just is another real impediment to attracting those students to Canada,” he said.
Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) president Timothy Edwards said the latest job action has taken about 150 foreign visa officers off the job. About 65 were deemed “essential” and are continuing to process visa applications.
He estimates the cuts will lead, on average, to a 25 per cent drop in the number of visas issued per week. In the largest centres like Beijing, Manila, New Delhi and Mexico City, visa processing is expected to drop as much as 65 per cent.
Despite mitigation efforts by the government, he said “there’s simply no way to make up the deficit.”
“We’re talking about tens of thousands of visas not being issued per week,” he said, adding the backlogs already rose about 20 per cent per week through June.
He said the union is prepared to keep up the fight until the end of the calendar year.
According to Immigration and Citizenship, visa offices remain open and about 1,000 staff are still providing services to clients. Alexis Pavlich, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, said additional staff are being hired and others are being trained to handle the actual processing of visas.
Applicants are being urged to submit their paperwork well in advance and would-be students are being urged to seek letters from their institution advising authorities that they’d be permitted to start the school year late, if need be.
Noting the department had a 10 day standard for issuing visitors visas, Goldstein said a CIC advisory issued when the job action first started in China and Mexico suggested visa processing could take as long as six weeks as a result. CIC has yet to update its processing times at foreign visa officer.
Union efforts to seek binding arbitration with the federal government broke down Friday. The government would only agree to the plan if the union would submit to six preconditions. PAFSO would only agree to three.
The union is seeking wage parity with counterparts in other federal departments who, the union argues, make as much as $14,000 more for comparable work.
The government argues foreign service workers have unique jobs that cannot be compared to other public service workers.
Visitor and work visas processed at 15 affected offices in 2012:
Abu Dhabi 22,175
Ankara 23,058
Beijing 181,797
Cairo 9,692
Delhi 98,483
Chandigarh 34,874
Hong Kong 12,485
London 24,692
Manila 52,453
Mexico City 97,585
Moscow 26,322
Paris 43,094
Riyadh 16,556
Sao Paulo 73,595
Shanghai 53,770
ajevaemasumi
Hero Member
- Jan 7, 2013
- 2
- Category........
- NOC Code......
- 2281
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- App. Filed.......
- 06-09-2012
- Doc's Request.
- 03-09-2013 (Submitted - 03-10-2013)
- AOR Received.
- 18-09-2012
- IELTS Request
- Submitted Initially
15 Canadian Visa Offices Temporarily Shut Down Due to Strike
Monday, 29 July 2013
Beginning Monday, 15 major Canadian visa offices will temporarily shut down as visa officers escalate a general strike.
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) has been conducting rotating strikes at embassies and consulates around the world in response to a dispute with the Federal government over payment practices. After further negotiations failed to result in compromise, the union has decided to halt all services at Canada’s 15 largest visa offices.
The following centres will be subject to the withdrawal of all services:
Abu Dhabi
Ankara
Beijing
Cairo
Delhi/Chandigarh
Hong Kong
London
Manila
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Riyadh
Sao Paulo
Shanghai
Prior to this action, PAFSO’s rotating strikes have already caused a sharp rise in wait times for visas around the world. This has already negatively affected the Canadian economy, especially at the height of summer tourist season.
It is unknown when the general strike will be lifted.
Monday, 29 July 2013
Beginning Monday, 15 major Canadian visa offices will temporarily shut down as visa officers escalate a general strike.
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) has been conducting rotating strikes at embassies and consulates around the world in response to a dispute with the Federal government over payment practices. After further negotiations failed to result in compromise, the union has decided to halt all services at Canada’s 15 largest visa offices.
The following centres will be subject to the withdrawal of all services:
Abu Dhabi
Ankara
Beijing
Cairo
Delhi/Chandigarh
Hong Kong
London
Manila
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Riyadh
Sao Paulo
Shanghai
Prior to this action, PAFSO’s rotating strikes have already caused a sharp rise in wait times for visas around the world. This has already negatively affected the Canadian economy, especially at the height of summer tourist season.
It is unknown when the general strike will be lifted.
darkesthorizon
Full Member
- Jun 20, 2013
- 0
- Category........
- Visa Office......
- Ottawa
- Job Offer........
- Pre-Assessed..
- AOR Received.
- 25-01-2013
I would imagine that this is likely to affect other offices too, as they will probably try and help out with the backlog.
Source: http://www.pafso.com/news_releases.php?newsID=168
Result: The ones who have been issued PER are likely to get their Visas before the end of this year.