The Foreign Service Journal, October 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2013 11 Canadian FSOs Strike for Equal Pay for Equal Work C anadian diplomats are locked in a battle with the conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and its Treasury Board over contract negotiations that had dragged on for two years before finally breaking down in January with Treasury’s refusal to offer any concessions. At this writing, there is no resolution in sight to the escalating job action. At issue is equal pay for equal work. Canadian Foreign Service members are subject to pay gaps compared to those faced by other federal professionals performing similar or identical work, often in adjoining cubicles in Ottawa and, increasingly, abroad. As of June, the gaps range from a minimum of $3,000 per year at the FS-3 level to $14,000 at the FS-2 level. The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, the union representing Canada’s non-executive diplomats, was prevented from addressing the problem in the last round of contract negotiations in 2009, when the Harper government circumvented collective bargaining and The [Egyptian] military was asked to intervene by millions and millions of people, all of whom were afraid of descendance into chaos, into violence. … And the military did not take over, to the best of our judgment—so far. To run the country, there’s a civilian government. In effect, they were restor- ing democracy. — Secretary of State John Kerry, responding to a question about developments in Egypt during an Aug. 1 interview i n Pakistan. Contemporary Quote TALKING POINTS imposed wages through legislation. In March, 82 percent of PAFSO’s 1,350 members voted to walk out to bolster their position at the bargaining table. On April 2, PAFSO initiated job action measures beginning with “elec- tronic information pickets”—automatic e-mail replies informing contacts of the breakdown in contract negotiations and expressing regret for any service delay. Work-to-rule followed a week later, with FS officers refusing to put in over- time, check their BlackBerries outside business hours, fill in for their bosses or perform any tasks outside their job descriptions. The Treasury Board’s continued refusal to return to the bargaining table led PAFSO to escalate the struggle in mid- May. Union members began targeted walkouts in select missions abroad and at headquarters in Ottawa, for the first time in the association’s 46-year history. With the collapse of efforts to force the government into binding arbitration, in late July PAFSO extended their job action to the 15 largest visa- processing centers in Canadian foreign missions. Operations in Beijing, Mexico City, New Delhi, London, Paris, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai have been affected, among others. According to PAFSO, visa processing volumes dropped by 65 percent in June at the three processing centers the union targeted. Tourism groups esti- mate that the strike could cost the industry $280 million by the end of this summer. Organizers of the Montreal and Vancouver international film festivals are concerned; and Canada’s education sys- tem, which attracts many thousands of foreign students each year, stands to have its reputation, if not income, damaged. While Treasury Board President Tony Clement charges the union with sink- Canadian FS members picket in front of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office in Ottawa, left, and at the High Commission in London, right. PAFSO PAFSO