Members of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers officially walked off the job today. If you work for the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we highly recommend reading the April 4 update (below) on how to continue your work while supporting the strike.
The April 17 update follows :
Our brothers and sisters at the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers have now been on strike for three weeks. Our union continues to firmly support their actions.
National President Doug Marshall is writing a letter to Assistant Deputy Minister Nadir Patel insisting that senior management and heads of mission respect Patel’s earlier instructions. On March 20, Patel advised, via email, that “local strike committees must be composed of non-represented senior managers from the EX and unrepresented groups.”
By back-tracking in this instruction and asking our management consular officer members to do what is clearly EX-level work, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is making life very uncomfortable for our members. These requests must stop immediately.
As this drags on, management consular officers will find themselves doing more work. That’s why we’re urging all PSAC members who are seeing an increase in their workload to document their situation. We want to ensure that you are claiming (and being paid for!) any overtime worked.
It also ensures that management consular officers, who are already doing more than their share of the work, document their workload in case something falls through the cracks. We simply can’t do it all!
Finally, this will ensure that after the PAFSO work actions are over, we can demonstrate how Treasury Board’s reluctance to bargain fairly with PAFSO had a negative impact on management consular officers.
Our members who work away from home are already coping with an enormous strain in their day-to-day lives. We urge the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to get back to the bargaining table.
If you have any questions, please use your personal email to email Regional Vice-President Heather Brooker at hbrooker97@gmail.com
The April 4 update follows:
Our brothers and sisters at the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers recently voted in favour of strike action. The Union of National Employees stands in solidarity with these members and calls on the Government of Canada to negotiate in good faith.
Many of our members work side-by-side with foreign service officers in Canadian embassies across the globe and at headquarters. For these members, it’s business as usual at the embassy and at 125 and 111 Sussex. Since this strike does not affect PSAC members, they must report to work and perform their regular duties.
While crossing a picket line is usually frowned upon, our members are obligated to report to the workplace. We encourage you to support your colleagues by walking the picket line with them outside your normal work hours. Better yet, drop by with some coffee and water!
This is a good time to explain your situation; you support their strike but you’re nonetheless obligated to show up to work. Your colleagues should understand your situation.
However, if you feel intimidated or have any concerns about your safety, step away from the picket line and call your supervisor. Your manager must provide you with a safe way of getting to work.
You should also be vigilant against being asked to perform work normally done by PAFSO members. If that does happen, obey your manager and contact your shop steward or union representative immediately.
As a PSAC member, you should not be involved in any strike strategy committees – that’s management’s job! Your role is to follow the directions that flow from these committees while making sure you don’t perform work normally done by your striking colleagues.
For more information on this strike, please visit the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers’ website. Your regional team and members of your local executive should also be in a position to provide you with more information.