Dear Members,
Happy 2023! I hope all of you managed to get some well-deserved rest and spend some quality time with friends and family. As we return from the holiday break, I wanted to take a moment to share the timelines for some of the specific items on PAFSO’s agenda for early 2023.
Collective Bargaining
Our next set of negotiations with the Employer are scheduled to take place later this month, at which date we intend to present our salary proposals. After the session, we hope to be in a position to share more with you.
Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations
Our new Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations Officer will begin work with the PAFSO office in mid-January. The first deliverable for the position will be a detailed strategy document for presentation to the Annual General Meeting in October.
Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Study on the Foreign Service and elements of the foreign policy machinery within Global Affairs Canada
As the Senate study prepares to wrap up, I’m working on our written submission in support of my appearance on April 7, 2022. We will also be seeking opportunities to provide input to the Global Affairs Canada study led by Minister Joly.
Cyclical Review of the Foreign Service Directives (FSDs)
The deadline for input for the long-overdue review of the FSDs has been extended to 1 August in order to allow time to incorporate relevant information from the Senate and GAC studies. We expect to launch our survey to members in early February and will continue to work with the Consultation Committee as we develop our detailed submission.
First PAFSO Breakfast of 2023
I am very pleased to report that we will hold our first PAFSO Breakfast of 2023 on Tuesday, January 17, at 0900 Ottawa time. Ulric Shannnon, former PAFSO member and current Director General of the Peace and Stabilization Operations bureau at Global Affairs Canada, will join us to discuss the state of expertise in the Canadian Foreign Service. His presentation will be based on the research project he conducted in 2021–2, while on leave from the government of Canada as a Research Associate at the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa. You can read his research paper here. Register for the Zoom webinar by clicking here.
Of course, we also remain committed to our regular programming and services, from labour relations advice to more PAFSO Breakfasts and other professional development events. I’ll be sharing more details on those plans soon.
In the meantime, as always, we are here for you. If you have any concerns with your situation at work, please send a detailed email to our General Manager, Bertrand Myre, and he will connect you with one of our Labour Relations Advisers. For all other inquiries, email info@pafso.com and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
I’ll send my next message in mid-January. In the meantime, please take care of yourselves and each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President