Foreign Service - Strike?

[vik403]

Can't we all just get along?

That made me laugh. ;D
thanks a lot for that.

 

[costaudjoe]

I have to disagree. This strike is about us. PAFSO members are public servants. Their job is to serve Canadians and their families.

And the main purpose of the strike is to cause inconvenience to us. From the mouth of the PAFSO President, Tim Edwards:

“Over the summer, we are going to be targeting mainly visa and immigration processing because this is the peak season for those files, whereas the political and trade diplomatic calendar slows down over the summer.”

You're right about the fact that this is all about power. The PAFSO is holding Canadians and their families hostage in an attempt to extort a higher paycheck for themselves. That's some sense of public service...

You have a distorted view of the situation. PAFSO is not there waiting for us to send them PR applications to approve them for us. They, first and foremost, are the front line for Canada. They make sure that those who apply meet the necessary qualifications by weeding out fraudulent cases. They work for all Canadians by acting as gatekeepers and don't work solely for the ones who submitted PR applications.

 

[jwa007]

You have a distorted view of the situation. PAFSO is not there waiting for us to send them PR applications to approve them for us. They, first and foremost, are the front line for Canada. They make sure that those who apply meet the necessary qualifications by weeding out fraudulent cases. They work for all Canadians by acting as gatekeepers and don't work solely for the ones who submitted PR applications.

I never said that their purpose is to just rubber stamp visas. You're right, their primary job is to represent and aid Canadians overseas. My point is that they are purposefully inconveniencing Canadians in an attempt to pressure the government to cave to their demands. Edwards said it in the quote above - they're targeting visa and immigration processing for this purpose. To me, that's a pretty distorted view of public service.

 

[costaudjoe]

I get that you are frustrated and I am in the same boat. However, it may be that your frustration is misplaced. At the outset of the strike PAFSO and the Treasury Board met and determined what were essential services and by extension those employees needed to perform those services. So Canadians are still being served. Canadians who are affected by this strike are namely those who are applying for family sponsorship, which if you look at the statistics it is in the thousands. So all this to say your point that they aren't serving Canadians is a stretch at best. The truth is there are always third parties who are affected by strikes, it is the very nature of the beast.

 

[Dan_from_Surrey]

That made me laugh. ;D
thanks a lot for that.

+1 this thread needed the breather.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I never said that their purpose is to just rubber stamp visas. You're right, their primary job is to represent and aid Canadians overseas. My point is that they are purposefully inconveniencing Canadians in an attempt to pressure the government to cave to their demands. Edwards said it in the quote above - they're targeting visa and immigration processing for this purpose. To me, that's a pretty distorted view of public service.

They target the summer because of the increase in visitor/work and student visas. This has an immediate economic impact. Parliament is in summer recess so it ties the hands of government to legislate them back to work.

You like most have a myopic view of what is going on. The government loves muppets like you.

 

[jwa007]

They target the summer because of the increase in visitor/work and student visas. This has an immediate economic impact. Parliament is in summer recess so it ties the hands of government to legislate them back to work.

You like most have a myopic view of what is going on. The government loves muppets like you.

Ah, insulting my intelligence and resorting to name-calling while simultaneously agreeing with me that they are using us as pawns to get their way, the mark of a great debater!

 

[MistahFixIt]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/07/30/pol-foreign-service-protest.html

Oh my, look at that. The Treasury Board wouldn't go to Binding Arbitration unless it already had the deck stacked in their favour.

This is my surprised face. :

 

[mikeymyke]

Hey on the bright side, if they're using local hires to process your applications, maybe for those of you with more red flags than usual, these local hires wont be trained to spot them, and may approve your application quicker ;D

 

[gongdi]

I think hiring scabs could either make things more efficient or cause even more delays with mistakes :-\.
Personally, I'd rather trust my future with a professional VO but heh, it's better than my wife's passport to be sitting in some file cabinet for months on end .

 

[nanediniz]

http://www.cbc.ca/daybreakmontreal/2013/07/18/diplomat-strike-keeps-man-from-seeing-dying-father/

 

[zardoz]

http://www.cbc.ca/daybreakmontreal/2013/07/18/diplomat-strike-keeps-man-from-seeing-dying-father/

That really is a load of rubbish. The strike did NOT prevent him from leaving Canada and going to see his father.
He could easily have gone if that was important to him. He was told there was a "risk" of not being re-admitted to Canada.. Just a "risk".

That article is, as it's presented, complete mis-information.

 

[costaudjoe]

That really is a load of rubbish. The strike did NOT prevent him from leaving Canada and go to see his father.
He could easily have gone if that was important to him. He was told there was a "risk" of not being re-admitted to Canada.. Just a "risk".

That article is, as it's presented, complete mis-information.

I just listened to it. I totally agree with you. The strike weighed heavy in HIS decision to not go home but by no means did it prevent him.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

Ah, insulting my intelligence and resorting to name-calling while simultaneously agreeing with me that they are using us as pawns to get their way, the mark of a great debater!

If you had intelligence to insult I would gladly do so.

PAFSO's collective agreement expired in June of 2011. Three months after that they were in a legal position to strike but they didn't. They continued to try to get the government to negotiate a fair deal which is what a collective agreement is for. The government has not moved an inch. It insulted the process further by agreeing to binding arbitration only if they have conditions added that would secure their position. Now tell us all again who is holding who hostage? Who set the stage for a strike to happen? This government has shown its contempt for the democratic process on more that a handful of occasions. It is their calling card. They do not represent the people. They represent Corporations.

The real fodder here are foreigners seeking temporary status. That is why they waited for the summer. If they meant to target Canadians in particular then they could have gone out on strike last fall.

 

[costaudjoe]

Latest article on the strike (from a former diplomat):

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/op-ed/Foreign+service+strike+leaves+students+hold/8739254/story.html