Foreign Service - Strike?

[CrazzzyCatLady]

So I went to look up what they are striking for. 3-14K/year. So most of them are on strike to get a couple hundred dollars extra a month (best case a bit over a grand). When you take taxes into consideration, they are on strike for actually very little. Now, while on strike they are not getting paid, so it will take them quite a bit of time to even recuperate the losses the strike entails. Thus, they are on strike, making lives of quite a few people miserable and impeding business of foreign business people (which Canada, like any country, needs) for a few 100 bucks. That is hard for me to justify. Strikes were relevant for coal miners who got blown up every now and when, but office workers with amazing benefits etc etc, does not make any moral or practical sense. Morally, they are increasing and/or prolonging the suffering of many people who are basically in the immigration limbo, many of whom chose the immigration route due to random chance of their partner living in a different country, not financial or any other selfish gain. Practically, as I mentioned above, they are not gaining much at all (if anything). Completely ludicrous.

Sorry for the rant

 

[NicAnn]

I agree with you CrazzzyCatLady I was saying the very same things to my husband a couple of nights ago. Why not instead, if you wish to work where people make more than you do for doing the same work, apply for that other position and try to get a raise legitimately like most people would do? I don't get it either. Instead they would lose thousands in a strike, and possibly wreck their credit by being unable to pay bills on time or feed their families, so they can twist the arm of the government and force them to give them what they want. Sigh.

 

[DGT]

I don't think the people striking will be without funds.

It's not a 100% walk off the job strike for one, and the Union will likely be paying them part of their standard wage at this time. This is one of the things that people pay their union membership fees for.

 

[NicAnn]

I don't think the people striking will be without funds.

It's not a 100% walk off the job strike for one, and the Union will likely be paying them part of their standard wage at this time. This is one of the things that people pay their union membership fees for.

I know, I used to work a union job, but it is bare bones, and the longer the strike goes, the less funds are left, so the paycheck gets smaller and smaller, the antithesis of what is being sought in the demands of the strike. So if that all-out walk-out happens (as they are threatening) it will deplete their funds very quickly. I still agree with CrazzyCatLady. This is not what unions were supposed to protect people from which is sweat shop environments and unsafe working conditions.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I don't think the people striking will be without funds.

It's not a 100% walk off the job strike for one, and the Union will likely be paying them part of their standard wage at this time. This is one of the things that people pay their union membership fees for.

Strike pay is crap. It may not be more than $50/day and to earn it you have to actively picket every day for the duration of your work hours. Most union fees go to pay for the administration of the union and legal fees for grievances. These folks will be living off their savings.
People don't seem to get it that striking is the last resort any worker has to force the employer to negotiate. When strikes happen that is a failure of management not due to "greedy" workers.

 

[amikety]

So I went to look up what they are striking for. 3-14K/year. So most of them are on strike to get a couple hundred dollars extra a month (best case a bit over a grand). When you take taxes into consideration, they are on strike for actually very little. Now, while on strike they are not getting paid, so it will take them quite a bit of time to even recuperate the losses the strike entails. Thus, they are on strike, making lives of quite a few people miserable and impeding business of foreign business people (which Canada, like any country, needs) for a few 100 bucks. That is hard for me to justify. Strikes were relevant for coal miners who got blown up every now and when, but office workers with amazing benefits etc etc, does not make any moral or practical sense. Morally, they are increasing and/or prolonging the suffering of many people who are basically in the immigration limbo, many of whom chose the immigration route due to random chance of their partner living in a different country, not financial or any other selfish gain. Practically, as I mentioned above, they are not gaining much at all (if anything). Completely ludicrous.

Sorry for the rant

I read the article supplied by another user. I have to say, I feel less sympathetic towards these Visa Officers. They make a lot more - and I mean almost double - what I thought they made!

Still, allowing the contract to expire for two years isn't cool.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I read the article supplied by another user. I have to say, I feel less sympathetic towards these Visa Officers. They make a lot more - and I mean almost double - what I thought they made!

Still, allowing the contract to expire for two years isn't cool.

Depending on what level they are they can make anywhere between $40000 to $100000. They work longer hours than the 40 hour work week. They must be available 24hrs a day. The regions of the world they may work in are less than desirable. Their spouses cannot work. They have no access to family support structures. Personal living conditions would reflect the housing conditions of the regions they work in. The pressure of processing and determining who gets into Canada and the ever increasing workload as Visa Offices close.

People here make very quick judgements. They see the wages and apply the same conditions that they currently live under. I believe that they don't make enough for the jobs that they do and if all they want is to make the same money as their domestic counterparts who do not have to be exposed to any of the challenges in a foreign office then I say pay them want they are asking because we are still getting off cheap.

 

[DGT]

Strike pay is crap. It may not be more than $50/day and to earn it you have to actively picket every day for the duration of your work hours. Most union fees go to pay for the administration of the union and legal fees for grievances. These folks will be living off their savings.
People don't seem to get it that striking is the last resort any worker has to force the employer to negotiate. When strikes happen that is a failure of management not due to "greedy" workers.

I appreciate all of that. And I don't have a problem with the strikers. I'm simply combatting the notion that there is zero renumeration during strike times. I do understand how unions work.

I'm Scottish after all.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I appreciate all of that. And I don't have a problem with the strikers. I'm simply combatting the notion that there is zero renumeration during strike times. I do understand how unions work.

I'm Scottish after all.

LOL....I guess that also makes you an expert on sheep......

I took from your comment that it implied they wouldn't be suffering any personal loss while on strike. My apologies if I read more into your comment then intended.

 

[DGT]

LOL....I guess that also makes you an expert on sheep......

I took from your comment that it implied they wouldn't be suffering any personal loss while on strike. My apologies if I read more into your comment then intended.

Oh, i'm more than an expert on sheep. I'm THE expert on sheep. Unless you meet a Kiwi. In which case they take precedence.

No offence taken sir!

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

Oh, i'm more than an expert on sheep. I'm THE expert on sheep. Unless you meet a Kiwi. In which case they take precedence.

No offence taken sir!

I think the sheep in NZ are designated as extended family......

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Diplomats+strike+causing+visa+backlog+that+hurting+tourism/8595300/story.html

This just popped up through the PAFSO FB page.

 

[marianasanroman]

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/travel/Diplomats+strike+causing+visa+backlog+that+hurting+tourism/8595300/story.html

This just popped up through the PAFSO FB page.

yeah, hopefully, the Treasury Board sees that it would be much worse to prolong this until the fall than to negotiate with PAFSO... and we'll get our visas

 

[herewecome]

At least someone other than PAFSO is speaking out. Any impact analysis by PAFSO was always bound to be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

[QuebecOkie]

From that article, "We are caught in the middle. ... It’s the unpredictability that’s the problem. ..."

Yeah, no shit!

Reading the point of view from the spouse, I do feel for the foreign workers. I can empathize, because it's very similar to the challenges faced by military families. Many spouses unable to work, kind of "back-burnered" for their spouses' careers. Living in a place where one might find it difficult to be a part of the community. Long distances between you and family and friends.