UPDATES ON PAFSO STRIKE
http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/08/08/foreign-service-strike-could-drag-on-for-weeks-as-union-awaits-hearing/
Foreign service strike could drag on for weeks as union awaits hearing
By Michelle Zilio | Aug 8, 2013 4:29 pm
The striking foreign service officers’ union could be forced to wait anywhere from three to four weeks to obtain a hearing at the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB), possibly dragging job action into the fall.
In a telephone conversation with iPolitics, a spokesperson from the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) said the hearing before the PSLRB is likely to be schedule three to four weeks after an initial “fleshing out” phone call with the board, which has not been scheduled yet.
After a failed attempt to agree to enter binding arbitration with Treasury Board, PAFSO filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the Canadian government last week and asked the Public Service Labour Relations Board (PSLRB) to order the union and Treasury Board to enter into binding arbitration.
The PAFSO spokesperson said the PSLRB has acknowledged receipt of the union’s complaint. According to the spokesperson, the board will address the matter as soon as possible due to the mounting impact of the strike. The hearing itself will be public.
While the union said it could not speculate on what the result of the hearing will be, it believes it has a strong case to demonstrate that Treasury Board has not bargained in good faith.
An official from the PSLRB said it would be inappropriate for the board to comment on how the hearing will impact negotiations.
“We cannot anticipate the length of time the hearing and the resulting decision would take, nor would it be appropriate for us to comment on how any of this would impact negotiations,” said the PSLRB official in an email.
Unless both sides can agree to a settlement through negotiation, the waiting period for the PSLRB hearing could drag the strike into the fall session of Parliament. While the possibility of issuing back-to-work legislation for the union still exists, that option seems unlikely, given rumours that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will prorogue Parliament in September.
PAFSO, which represents 1,350 foreign service workers, has been in a legal strike position since April 2 and without a contract since June 2011. The union is asking for a pay raise because some junior diplomats earn up to $14,000 less than colleagues doing the same work in Ottawa.
The union has been taking job action for the past two months, including rotating strikes and pickets outside of Canadian missions and offices abroad. Job action by the union’s immigration officials has led to delayed Canadian visa issuance across the world, frustrating visa applicants and hitting the Canadian tourism, education and business sectors hard.
The union’s recent effort to target Canada’s 15 largest visa processing centres worldwide with rotating strikes has resulted in a 60 to 65 per cent drop in visa issuance at targeted missions and a 25 per cent drop system-wide, according to the union.
In a recent interview with iPolitics, PAFSO President Tim Edwards said the strike could cost the Canadian economy more than a billion dollars if the government and the union fail to come to an agreement by the fall. The Tourism Industry Association of Canada estimates the strike will cost the Canadian tourism sector more than $280 million this year.
As the strike continues, Treasury Board and PAFSO continue to accuse one another of bargaining in bad faith. Edwards said the government has acted with “prejudicial intent” towards PAFSO, while Treasury Board President Tony Clement said that by rejecting some of Treasury Board’s key conditions to enter arbitration, PAFSO essentially rejected binding arbitration.
“Throughout this process the government has continued to bargain in good faith to achieve a fair deal,” said an official from Clement’s office in an email July 31. “The government is taking steps to continue to ensure service delivery in a timely fashion with the least amount of disruption to Canadians.”
An official from Clement’s office said Treasury Board had no further updates or comments to add Thursday.
