Dear Members,
It’s been very cold here in Ottawa. In fact, the blanket of snow I mentioned in my last message is still mostly here. But, despite the deep freeze we’ve experienced here these past few weeks, the news has not slowed down. There’s a lot going on, so I’ll just dive right in.
First, some great news. Earlier this week, GAC’s FSD Bureau announced significant updates that address many issues raised by PAFSO members at missions abroad. The most important changes from our point of view are:
Lifting of most restrictions for travel under FSD 50 – Post Travel Assistance and FSD 51 – Family Reunion Travel
Formal HOM support is no longer required for personal travel under these two FSDs, but some restrictions still apply (e.g., cruise ship travel is still not allowed). Employees should continue to get travel cancellation, trip interruption and health insurance. It is my understanding that a similar change is expected to FSD 58.5.1 d – Respite Travel Assistance. We will be sure to update you when we hear more.
Reimbursement for quarantine at post for some FSD funded travel
GAC has now received exceptional authority to consider reimbursement for up to $10,000 per family for eligible costs of mandatory quarantine at host-government designated facilities upon arrival back to an employee’s post location from FSD 50 – Post Travel Assistance in the few locations where this is still required. This authority applies only in cases where the post is a city state and there are no viable travel options within the host country, or there are security, health or movement restrictions imposed by either the mission or the host country which prohibit travel outside the posting city, and mandatory hotel quarantine requirement applies to all travellers returning from anywhere outside the host country. (At the moment, HKONG is the only mission to which this provision applies.)
We note that this will be good news for some of our members, especially since mandatory quarantine at host-government designated facilities upon arrival back to Post location for travel under FSD 18 – Special Family Separation Assistance, FSD 35 – Education Travel, FSD 41 – Health Care Travel, FSD 51 – Family Reunion and FSD 54 – Compassionate Travel can be covered within existing authorities. However, we have noted that this could make for an unfair situation for single and/or childless employees whose only travel option is under FSD 50 and who must therefore bear the brunt of quarantine costs unless they meet the stringent criteria outlined above. We will be raising this issue with GAC to assess ways to address this differential impact.
Financial assistance for shipment delay
In recognition of the huge inconveniences this can cause, GAC is now making accountable advances of up to $2,500 available to employees who have been waiting for over 6 months for the delivery of household effects (HHE) from their previous place of duty to their current one. This advance is to help replace essential items (e.g., clothing, electronics, children’s toys, etc.) listed on the HHE inventory.
House hunting trips
House hunting trips may once again be approved for employees relocating back to Canada or posted to private lease missions as per FSD 15.20. Check with your FSD Client Advisor as approval may be linked to factors such as mandatory hotel quarantines in the current and/or future places of duty
In more good news, we have also learned that cyclical hardship reviews, linked to FSD 58 – Post Differential Allowance will resume in the next calendar year. Over the past year, the the Interdepartmental Hardship Post Committee has been occupied with the review of the temporary situation at several missions that may have been particularly affected by the pandemic in comparison to hardships experienced in the NCR. This month, they have begun to ask missions to submit the post hardship report and rating form for the regular cyclical reviews, starting with hardship III, IV and V missions whose last review was completed in 2015.
Overall, we are happy to see these changes and believe that they address many of PAFSO’s concerns about the difficulties faced by our members. As always, the Employer is the authoritative source for details on these policies, so please visit the Posting Services website for more complete information. And, for specific questions on your individual situation, please direct your questions to your FSD advisor via FSD.Relocations-Reinstallations.DSE@international.gc.ca and FSD.PolicyRelocations-Politiquereinstallations.DSE@international.gc.ca. If, after raising the issue with the FSD Bureau, you believe your file has been handled in an unfair or discriminatory way, please reach out to Executive Director Kim Colesfor advice.
Despite these positive developments, Omicron, and its new BA.2 sub-variant, are still causing record numbers of infections across the world. To this point, the Public Service Occupational Health Program has issued new guidance on returning to the worksite after a COVID-19 infection or exposure. If you have tested positive for COVID-19, or if you are experiencing symptoms, you should wait at least 10 days until your symptoms have resolved. If you have been in close contact with a confirmed or presumed case of COVID-19 you should not return to the worksite for 14 days, provided you have remained free of symptoms. Of course, these are the rules of thumb. There are a few situations (e.g., the continuity of critical services) in which an employee could be allowed to return to work before the 10/14 days recommended above. These would require additional mitigation measures, such as the wearing of a well-fitting medical mask, physical distancing, no eating in shared spaces, etc. And, as has always been the case with this pandemic, the information is always changing. So, be sure to refer to the latest from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Although the pandemic continues to dominate our work, we are moving ahead on other priorities. Our collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of June. We are currently in the process of assessing your needs, analyzing our environment, and developing our strategy for the upcoming round of negotiations. In last year’s triennial survey, you gave us some preliminary data about your concerns, which are overwhelmingly linked to two factors: the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian families and the possible downsizing of the Foreign Service. Over the coming weeks, we will be drilling down on some of these questions and consulting you on your priorities and our strategy.
On Tuesday, you should have received a notice that, in accordance with last October’s decision to implement the Full-Time Presidency, nominations are now open for the office of President. 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 14, 2022.
In accordance with the provisions of the new Article 8 in the PAFSO Constitution, direct elections will be held no later than April 30, 2022. Please have a look at the recording of last week’s information session for a discussion of these steps and some of the issues involved. If you have specific questions about the process, please direct them to Kristin Jansen, Chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee, via info@pafso.com.
Finally, in lieu of the PAFSO Breakfast that would normally be held next week, I will be hosting a virtual Happy Hour Roundtable with Kerry Buck, former Permanent Representative to NATO, at 1600 EST on Tuesday, 22 February. She will be discussing the changing environment for Canadian diplomacy and the ways we need to adapt, as outlined here in her January article for MacLean’s. You can join us by registering for the session here.
As always, please remember that Executive Director Kim Coles is your first point of contact for any and all of your concerns about your situation at work. Just send her an email describing your circumstance and she will put you in touch with a member of our labour relations team. Should you have any other questions, please send an email to info@pafso.com, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
It’s always great to see so much progress on so many fronts. Let’s hope that the trend continues. And let’s also hope that the downward trend in Omicron cases we are seeing here in Canada starts to take place across the world. I know COVID-19 has thrown us many curve balls so far, but wouldn’t it be nice if this truly was the beginning of the end?
I’ll be taking some leave in the coming days, but when I am back, we will return to our regular coffee and happy hour sessions. Your next message from me will arrive in two weeks. In the meantime, please stay safe, and take care of yourselves and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President