The Foreign Service Journal, June 2014

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2014 13 A s its subtitle “Read The Diplomat , Know the Asia- Pacific” suggests, The Diplomat specializes in cover- age of developments and trends in the Asia and Pacific region. Based in Tokyo, the online magazine gives excellent insight on domestic and foreign policies of key regional players from an Asian perspective. The Diplomat also hosts an active and lively Facebook page, “The Diplomat Magazine,” that shares non-main- stream coverage of the region and has some 256,000 likes. It also offers a weekly newsletter, “The Diplomatic Brief.” From Australia to Japan, India and Iran, The Diplomat has access to in-country writers reporting from more than 20 nations in the Asia-Pacific, offering local perspectives and valuable insights on politics, international relations, defense, economics, business and culture. It also draws on a team of award-winning analysts and writers based across the globe. The publication has partnerships with a range of public policy and media organiza- tions, including the global news aggregator Real- ClearWorld, the Environmental News Network, the U.K.’s Foreign Policy Center, India’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, Danwei, China Hush, Aus- tralia’s Lowy Institute, the U.S. East-West Center in Hawaii and others. The site is fantastically easy to navigate, with headline stories covering a slew of relevant topics across five major regions of Eastern Asia, as well as topical sections. To cover this fast-growing region, The Diplomat makes creative use of interviews, podcasts and videos. —Susan B. Maitra, Managing Editor SITE OF THE MONTH: www.thediplomat.com cent. In exchange, we asked the employer to address our longstanding wage gaps, which we saw as unfair, demoralizing and a serious threat to retention. We were told on the spot there was no reason to offer Foreign Service officers one cent more than what had been tabled the first day of negotiations 18 months earlier. At that point, it was clear to us that only a strike mandate could give us the leverage we needed to have our griev- ances addressed. Bout: What prompted the call for bind- ing arbitration in July 2013, a key turning point in the strike? TE: By mid-July, we had been con- ducting targeted withdrawals of service for about eight weeks, including at some of Canada’s largest visa-processing centers abroad. Media reports were suggesting that the economic impact of these walkouts on the tourism and education sectors, as well as on industries which rely on temporary foreign work- ers, was significant and would grow in severity if the strike persisted. To prevent further damage to the economy, PAFSO formally proposed to Treasury Board President Tony Clement that we take our dispute to binding arbitration (which would allow us to immediately suspend strike measures). We stressed that if he was so confident his longstanding pay offer was “fair and rea- sonable,” he would not hesitate to submit it to third-party scrutiny. Bout: Can the damage to relations between the government and its diplomats soon be healed? TE: To the extent that salary is a barom- eter of the value and respect accorded a profession, this strike’s outcome—notably the elimination of wage gaps at the FS-2 and FS-4 1evels—suggests that the govern- ment ultimately recognized (if grudgingly) the excellent return on investment it gets for every Foreign Service officer. Now that we are back at work, mem- bers are doing everything in their power to ensure a swift recovery andminimize Canadian FS members picket in front of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office in Ottawa in 2013. PAFSO