Dear Members,
We are fast approaching the two-year mark of living through this pandemic. After a few false starts, we are now seeing that downward trends are continuing in all the important metrics in Canada and many places abroad. And, in response, several provinces and international jurisdictions have now announced their plans to scale back health measures. Although this certainly is good news, it also means yet another big round of changes for all of us.
For many, the pandemic has meant working remotely. In fact, according to our recent triennial survey, 60% of you have adapted to working from home during the pandemic, either full-time or on a hybrid basis. And a majority of you have reported being happy with the flexibility remote working affords. The same survey shows that almost half of our members aren’t yet ready to return to the workplace on a full-time basis. Many point to an improved work-life balance. But others report feeling negative impacts from remote working, including issues with childcare, logistics and increased workloads. These are the kinds of issues, among many others, that our collective bargaining team will be looking at as we approach the next round of negotiations with the Employer. In the next few weeks, we will be putting out a brief survey asking for what improvements you’d like to see to our contract. So, keep an eye on your mailboxes for that.
In other news, the deadline for nominations for the office of President has been extended to February 28. Interested candidates are asked to submit their qualifications and intentions as well as the endorsement of 10 regular PAFSO members via this nomination form. Nomination forms must be returned to the PAFSO office by mail (Nominations, PAFSO, 412 – 47 Clarence Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 9K1) or electronically (info@pafso-apase.com) before 23:59 EST Monday, February 28, 2022. For more information on the nominations and elections process, you can view this information session on our YouTube channel.
Many of you may have seen the broadcast message from the PAFSO Awards Committee last week. Nominations for the 2022 Awards are now open. So, if you know of any colleagues who deserve recognition for their extraordinary work in 2021 and through the COVID-19 pandemic, consider nominating them for a prestigious Canadian Foreign Service Officer Award. Nominations can be submitted by anyone, including peers, supervisors, the private sector, NGOs and the general public. And nominees must be career foreign service officers who are both a substantive member of the foreign service group and working in a foreign service position. More details on award eligibility and nominations can be found here.
We will also be moving forward on the inaugural Randy Orr Memorial Award for service to the Foreign Service community, in honour of our IM colleague who passed away in September. If you are interested in serving on the award committee, please send an e-mail to info@pafso.com by 4 March.
Please note that in lieu of our regular PAFSO Breakfast next week, I will be hosting a very special virtual Happy Hour Roundtable on Tuesday, 22 February, 1600 EST. Kerry Buck, former Permanent Representative to NATO, will be joining us to discuss the changing environment for Canadian diplomacy and the ways we need to adapt to it. You can read more about it here in her fascinating article for MacLean’s. You can register for the session here.
And, in a final note, Carole Bidal has been recently appointed Chairperson of the National Joint Council. Ms. Bidal is the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Employee and Total Compensation, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. I look forward to working with Ms. Bidal as our NJC consultations resume for the new year.
As always, if you have any concerns about your situation at work, Executive Director Kim Coles is your first point of contact. Just send her an email describing your circumstance and she will put you in touch with our labour relations team. For all other questions, please send an email to info@pafso.com.
As I’m sure you all are, I have my eyes glued to the data. I don’t want to jinx it, but it certainly feels like the next normal is on its way. Stay safe. Stay positive. Take care of yourselves, and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President