PAFSO members – in a legal strike position – have been working to rule, withdrawing services
Unionized foreign services officers are returning to the negotiating table on Monday, June 3, following a request from the Treasury Board Secretariat, according to the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO).
“Targeted withdrawals” of service will continue until the contents of the Treasury Board’s offer are known, the union said, but it plans to unilaterally suspend all withdrawals on May 31 as “a demonstration of goodwill and to foster a positive environment for talks” with the Treasury Board.
PAFSO members have withdrawn services this week in three international locations, and three geadquarters divisions at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The affected missions and work units are: Manila, Cairo, Canada's Permanent Mission to the Organization of Amercian States in Washington, D.C., and the International Economic Relations & Summits Division, North America Policy & Relations Division, and Hemispheric Affairs Division in Ottawa.
In addition, all remaining PAFSO members are engaged in the eighth week of a work-to-rule campaign at headquarters and posts abroad.
The union has a strike mandate from its members, as 82 per cent voted in favour of job action after contract talks broke down on Jan. 31. It has been in a legal strike position since April 2.
PAFSO claims its members are paid between $3,000 and $14,000 less than counterparts in comparable occupational groups. It is seeking wage increases to allow them to catch up with other federal government professionals such as economists, commerce officers and lawyers.
