Kingston,Jamaica

[Leshatesha]

I was just watching the news and a tentative deal has been reach between the government and foreign service worker ;D

 

[danielle902]

I was just watching the news and a tentative deal has been reach between the government and foreign service worker ;D

Ohhhh yea!!!!! I wish this frickin system had a like button. ;D

 

[chilld of God]

I was just watching the news and a tentative deal has been reach between the government and foreign service worker ;D

Wow that great news. So when will things get back to normal? ?

 

[carm_cnd]

I was just watching the news and a tentative deal has been reach between the government and foreign service worker ;D

YAY!! that's awesome

 

[chickie72]

do you think they will work overtime this weekend to get caught up on the backlog?

 

[carm_cnd]

I was just watching the news and a tentative deal has been reach between the government and foreign service worker ;D

Where on the news did u see it?

 

[danielle902]

do you think they will work overtime this weekend to get caught up on the backlog?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iMpXAknykeg

 

[danielle902]

Where on the news did u see it?

Yes I would like to
Know too. I can't find it on the internet.

 

[danielle902]

Where on the news did u see it?

FOUND IT CARM!!!

http://m.thestar.com/#!/canada/foreign-service-workers-reach-contract-deal-with-ottawa/7610f557879cbf5df4dfca57d787d58f

 

[carm_cnd]

FOUND IT CARM!!!

http://m.thestar.com/#!/canada/foreign-service-workers-reach-contract-deal-with-ottawa/7610f557879cbf5df4dfca57d787d58f

thank you ;D ;D ;D I hope this means after the summer of not working they will be working extra hard the next couple of months... lets make that weeks

 

[danielle902]

From the globe and mail.



Canada’s foreign service has reached a deal on a new contract with the federal government, ending a lengthy dispute and rotating strikes that have slowed visa processing and other consular services abroad.

The deal was confirmed Thursday by the office of Treasury Board President Tony Clement and the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, though its terms are unclear. It comes after a federal tribunal found that Ottawa had been negotiating in bad faith.


The deal still has to be approved by both PAFSO members and the federal Treasury Board. Both sides released statements saying only that they were satisfied with the outcome.

“We are pleased that the government has recognized the tremendous value and dedication which Foreign Service Officers provide to Canadians and their elected representatives,” PAFSO president Tim Edwards said in a written statement. Strike action will end immediately, he said. “This agreement was reached through compromises on both sides,” he said.

Mr. Clement’s office released a statement saying the deal is in line with those struck with other federal bargaining units.

“This tentative agreement reflects the government’s commitment to reaching fiscally responsible settlements that are fair to Canadian taxpayers and to employees,” Mr. Clement’s office said. The minister later used his Twitter account to publish a photo of him and Mr. Edwards, smiling after signing a deal.

Both sides had faced widespread calls to reach a deal, with warnings that delays in visa processing abroad was hurting the tourism sector – $280-million in lost travel, according to one industry estimate – and delaying the arrival of international students, among other impacts.

The main sticking point was the wage scale foreign-service officers were placed on, with the union arguing they were underpaid in relation to what it said were comparable positions in other federal departments. That amounted to raises of between $3,000 and $14,000 for each of its roughly 1,350 members, the union has said.

The government had argued that, since the jobs are coveted, the pay scale was sufficient, and repeatedly said it had made a fair offer. It’s not clear whether the pay scale will be increased, or by how much.

The union had been without a contract since July 1, 2011, and had been in a legal strike position since April of this year.

The Public Service Labour Relations Board found earlier this month that the government was negotiating in bad faith, after it accepted the union’s offer of binding arbitration with unspecified conditions. The conditions were never going to be accepted and “merely represented lip service,” the board found.

 

[Nevaeha]

I am beyond thrilled to be reading that the government and PAFSO workers have finally come to a tentative agreement. With the signing of the tentative agreement PAFSO has ordered an immediate suspension of all strike measures and work to rule. The deal must still be voted on by PAFSO members and go to full Treasury Board for approval.

You can read all of the news on the PAFSO website, the Embassy News, on the Foreign Service - Strike? thread on this forum, etc.

Congratulations PAFSO workers!!!

I truly believe that all of us were affected by this strike, and I truly hope the visa officers in Kingston are celebrating the victory.

Now, please give us our victories, we have been waiting long enough...

Let's go Kingston!

 

[Nevaeha]

Wow that great news. So when will things get back to normal? ?

Immediately.

 

[danielle902]

I am beyond thrilled to be reading that the government and PAFSO workers have finally come to a tentative agreement. With the signing of the tentative agreement PAFSO has ordered an immediate suspension of all strike measures and work to rule. The deal must still be voted on by PAFSO members and go to full Treasury Board for approval.

You can read all of the news on the PAFSO website, the Embassy News, on the Foreign Service - Strike? thread on this forum, etc.

Congratulations PAFSO workers!!!

I truly believe that all of us were affected by this strike, and I truly hope the visa officers in Kingston are celebrating the victory.

Now, please give us our victories, we have been waiting long enough...

Let's go Kingston!

+1

 

[Nevaeha]

I wonder who is happier - the PAFSO workers or us? I am literally sitting here crying...I have regained some hope that the end is near.

Please, Kingston, hear our cries and start reuniting us with our loved ones....we have suffered with you through this strike long enough.