Foreign Service - Strike?

[Wait_Jul2011]

I am exteremly disappointment none of the us had a loud voice in Canada. I live close to CIC Hamilton ontario building. I haven't seen anyone doing protest.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

Thanks for your "help" with the article. By the way, did you actually read it yourself because I'm not sure you did. It doesn't support your idea at all.

Be interesting to see the results of this PAFSO strike. On the one hand people are arguing they're so small and "cheap" that it's not worth the hassle to fight the union demands. This does of course ignore the knock on effects which are conveniently forgotten when other unions crawl out of the woodwork. Or the effects on benefits, pensions and severance perhaps decades hence which are always linked to wages. It ignores that the $4m is $4m forever. Not just 4 years as you try to suggest. You're living in the clouds if you think it's somehow "temporary". Such stewardship of the public purse is what has essentially bankrupted much of the western world.

On the other hand apparently they're so mighty that it's costing the country billions of dollars and grinding visa applications to a halt. Which isn't true...at least in London where there has been essentially no discernible difference in processing. They're just going as slow as they have been for the past few years (a point I made pages ago). Such sluggishness on the whole is the last section that needs rewarded with a pay bump. I suspect it's a similar situation elsewhere regardless of the location or visa type - they're going at the same similar, inefficient, pace as previous. This is where the government has the real duty - to make the system clearer and fast. This is obviously not on the Unions radar...they care little about the efficiency of what they do but care greatly how much they are remunerated for administering it. I'll see if there is ever a strike, from any union, campaigning for a better system for the people using the service. Tip: Don't hold your breath.

The government, probably correctly, has done the math here and figures it can wait it out. I get the feeling they are right.

+1 for being a muppet.

Collective agreements last for 4 years. After that they negotiate a new one. That may result in either an increase or decrease in wages/benefits depending on the economic climate at the time. It would take decades to recover the loss of revenue in the billions by trying to save $4.2.

The government has specifically aided in the increased inefficiency by closing visa offices and reducing the number of officers doing the work.

 

[Matt29]

I read your posts Matt. It seems you were in Canada with your wife, you then applied (inland application), but then her Visa expired and you both went back to Korea?

That part doesn't make sense to me. I thought when you apply for PR, you get an implied status, and can just stay here in Canada regardless of visa expiration. Perhaps I'm wrong?

Let me repeat myself from earlier in the forum, since no one bothers to check. She applied for renewal for her visa in Canada when she was still there and was REJECTED. ERGO, there is a higher chance of us getting rejected when we re-enter Canada. It is not be over worrying, it is a likelihood. Also, since it was rejected, she was forced to leave when it was expired, I was not. I stayed to work for 4 months more in Canada to pay for my flight and a minute amount of expenses here in Korea, then i came here. Lastly, we applied for out of the country not inland (fyi)

 

[CanNZ]

Why was her renewal rejected?

 

[bolt]

I was quite worried about the strike at first. My wife and I applied through the Bogota embassy for her PR. There really hasn't appeared to be any delay through that office due to the strike. Here visa has been processed faster than the processing times posted on the CIC website.

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

I was quite worried about the strike at first. My wife and I applied through the Bogota embassy for her PR. There really hasn't appeared to be any delay through that office due to the strike. Here visa has been processed faster than the processing times posted on the CIC website.

Consider yourself lucky.

 

[automaton82]

Benefits over inland: the wait time for outland applications from some visa-exempt countries is faster than inland. Also, you can travel freely without worrying about abandoning your application (if you leave Canada with an inland app in progress and you are denied re-entry to Canada for any reason, your application is considered abandoned and you have to start over from scratch). A year and a half is a long time to go knowing any international travel puts your application at risk. Think about if a family member gets sick/dies/gives birth/etc. in your home country, and how terrible the decision is...do go and risk my application? (All the money and time and stress you've already put into it!) Or do I not go, and miss seeing my father/mother/etc. one last time, or meeting my new nephew/grandson/etc? Miss weddings? Funerals?

I often regretted applying inland, as I miss my family terribly, and the timeline has lengthened for inland apps since I applied (from 14 months to 18, not including landing or waiting for PR card). We got really lucky with a faster-than-usual timeline, so I no longer regret our decisions. But for many months, I've been longing to visit my family, but decided the risk to my inland application wasn't worth it.

Ah I see!

I agree with your concerns, but in my spouse's case, she already went over 2 years without going back to Korea (finally went back last year for a visit), so it doesn't bother her to go 2 years without seeing them. And, as it is, there is little chance of death/births/etc. in her family atm (but you're right, you can never predict it, it's definitely a risk, but not one I really worry about).

Despite the negatives, I think in her case inland is worth it, because she has a work visa that is going to expire EOY, and she wants an OWP to leave the company.

Overall, neither of us really travel outside of Canada every single year, so not travelling for 1-2 years really doesn't bother us at all . But I really appreciate your insight!

 

[QuebecOkie]

Ah I see!

I agree with your concerns, but in my spouse's case, she already went over 2 years without going back to Korea (finally went back last year for a visit), so it doesn't bother her to go 2 years without seeing them. And, as it is, there is little chance of death/births/etc. in her family atm (but you're right, you can never predict it, it's definitely a risk, but not one I really worry about).

Despite the negatives, I think in her case inland is worth it, because she has a work visa that is going to expire EOY, and she wants an OWP to leave the company.

Overall, neither of us really travel outside of Canada every single year, so not travelling for 1-2 years really doesn't bother us at all . But I really appreciate your insight!

Happy to share. The important thing is that you know what the differences are, and that you make an informed decision about which works best for your family. We did NOT do that. We knew NOTHING when we started this, and we thought we had to do an inland app since I planned on staying here for the duration. I no longer have any regrets, as our app was processed much faster than we'd feared, but for many months, I kicked myself over filing inland. Best of luck to you through the process!

 

[mask8]

from cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp. I believe that would apply, as I would apply for an OWP during PR app. But I'm not sure how customs will handle that if she tries to come back into the country if she left.

You are right. If, and maybe most case, you apply open work permit with your inland PR, you will have implied status. That is clearly stated here cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip06-eng.pdf
PR application itself doesn't affect anything though

 

[automaton82]

Happy to share. The important thing is that you know what the differences are, and that you make an informed decision about which works best for your family. We did NOT do that. We knew NOTHING when we started this, and we thought we had to do an inland app since I planned on staying here for the duration. I no longer have any regrets, as our app was processed much faster than we'd feared, but for many months, I kicked myself over filing inland. Best of luck to you through the process!

Thanks!

You are right. If, and maybe most case, you apply open work permit with your inland PR, you will have implied status. That is clearly stated here cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip06-eng.pdf
PR application itself doesn't affect anything though

That's exactly what I plan to do, put the OWP app with the PR app, to get implied status. I'm glad you verified that though. Thanks!

 

[aism.abbas]

Latest Information on the Strike

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/08/08/foreign-service-strike-could-drag-on-for-weeks-as-union-awaits-hearing/

Cheers guys

 

[Betina]

Latest Information on the Strike

http://www.ipolitics.ca/2013/08/08/foreign-service-strike-could-drag-on-for-weeks-as-union-awaits-hearing/

Cheers guys

The article is from August 8. Today is September 8 Stuff has happened in the meantime

 

[itslaeq]

Passport submitted for visa on 2nd April 2013. Have heard nothing since. Emailed them twice but no reply. Still waiting

 

[nanediniz]

Passport submitted for visa on 2nd April 2013. Have heard nothing since. Emailed them twice but no reply. Still waiting

Order your GCMS notes. This is the best way to find out what is going on with your application.
Good luck.

 

[Betina]

Passport submitted for visa on 2nd April 2013. Have heard nothing since. Emailed them twice but no reply. Still waiting

NDVO asks for PPR very early in the processing. And no VO will answer Case Specific Enquiries if it didn't exceed normal processing times. For New Delhi that's 11 months.

You can order your GCMS notes to see how far they've got with processing your file. But above all, you need to be patient