Full ipolitics.ca article:
Treasury Board has agreed to enter into binding arbitration to end a controversial strike by Canada's foreign service officers, but not without conditions.
After nearly two months of picketing outside government offices around the world, the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) requested the government enter into third-party binding arbitration last week. The union's offer was set to expire Tuesday at noon.
In a statement Tuesday, moments before noon, Treasury Board President Tony Clement said the government is willing to enter into arbitration, “under certain conditions.” However, those conditions will not be made public as they are subject to negotiation confidence, he said.
“We will continue to bargain in good faith and we appreciate the bargaining agent's efforts at finding a resolution to the strike,” said Clement. “Our goal is to have diplomatic, consular and other services to Canadians fully restored as quickly as possible.”
PAFSO did not respond to Clement's statement at time of publication Tuesday.
PAFSO, which represents 1,350 non-executive-level Canadian diplomats, has been in a legal strike position since April 2 and without contract since June 2011. The union is demanding equal pay for equal work because some junior diplomats earn up to $14,000 less than colleagues doing the same work in Ottawa.
Hundreds of PAFSO members have been picketing outside of government offices, including major embassies, around the world over the past two months. Members have also been participating in rotating strikes aimed at missions and sections where job action will have the strongest impact.
“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,” Edwards told iPolitics.
As Treasury Board and PAFSO attempt to come to an agreement, the effects of the strike are being felt around the world. According to Edwards, visa issuance has been heavily impacted, especially in major processing centres such as Beijing, Delhi, Manila, Mexico City. He said targeted missions have seen a 60 to 65 per cent drop in visa issuance and a 25 per cent drop system wide.
Although PAFSO has been in informal contact at the official level with Treasury Board, with whom it is negotiating the contract, Edwards said the union has not officially sat down with the government since June 5.
Treasury Board has said it believes PAFSO members have been presented with a fair offer — something Clement maintained in his statement Tuesday.
In prior statements, Treasury Board has highlighted some of the perks, known as Foreign Service Directives, PAFSO members are entitled. These include a reimbursement of up to 50 per cent for dry cleaning expenses, the shipment of personal vehicles and household items such as furniture to the diplomat's posting, and a foreign service incentive allowance recognizing the challenges associated with living abroad. Treasury Board said it invests $126 million a year in said Foreign Service Directives, most of which is dedicated to PAFSO members.
But the union has said Treasury Board's reference to the Foreign Service Directives is irrelevant to the negotiations currently at stake, which are focused on issues of pay.
If the strike continues into the fall, Edwards said the government can expect to feel the impact during every ministerial trip abroad.
“Any cabinet minister that travels abroad can expect that in any location that they visit.”
It is not clear whether rotating strikes will continue during arbitration.
Official statement:
http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/media/nr-cp/2013/0723-eng.asp
The Government of Canada has presented the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers an offer that is fair and reasonable to both employees and taxpayers.
Last week, the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers requested the Government enter into binding arbitration to end the union's strike. The Government is willing to enter into arbitration, subject to certain conditions.
These conditions are subject to negotiation confidence and cannot be shared publicly. We will continue to bargain in good faith and we appreciate the bargaining agent's efforts at finding a resolution to the strike.
It is important to note that Foreign Service Officers have unique jobs that cannot be compared to others. These jobs are substantively different from public service lawyers, economists or commerce officers. The Foreign Service also has no recruitment or retention issues.
Our goal is to have diplomatic, consular and other services to Canadians fully restored as quickly as possible. We continue to take steps to ensure the timely processing of visas.
