Dear Members,
The warm weather is finally here in the National Capital Region. With the summer vacation period coming up, I hope you all can get a chance to relax and recharge. I, myself, am looking to take some downtime soon. But between now and then, there is still a great deal of work to be done at PAFSO.
I’m sure you’ve all heard by now that on Monday, the federal Government announced that it was suspending its vaccine mandates for employees. As of 20 June, full vaccination, defined as two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine, is no longer a condition of employment for all federal employees. The Employer also stated that staff who had been placed on unpaid leave because of their vaccination status can be returned to strength as early as this Monday. The employer has made it clear should the health situation require it they reserve the right to bring the mandates back.
While we are pleased to see these mandates be lifted, we cannot ignore that, once again, this decision was made without real consultation with the bargaining agents, and with very limited details provided about the implementation plan. Even as we welcome the suspension of these measures, we continue to support COVID-19 vaccinations as an important tool to protect ourselves from severe illness. We urge our members to continue to follow the latest guidelines from Health Canada and health officials in their local jurisdictions.
The Employer has promised that further details on the matter will be made available in the next few days. Meanwhile, we are concerned about exactly how and when members who were placed on LWOP will be phased back into the workplace. As always, we are keeping close watch on this story and will update you as developments arise. In the meantime, if you have been affected by these measures and believe that your return is being handled in an unsafe or discriminatory manner, please contact our office for assistance.
As I mentioned last time, we are hoping that significant improvements have been made to the posting process so we will not see a repeat of the issues that arose last year. Please advise us of any issues or challenges you face with your relocation process. Our team of advisors and FSD specialists are here to provide you with all the information, advice, and assistance you may need. Just send us an email describing your situation, and someone will get back to you shortly.
In other business, our Virtual PAFSO Breakfast series continues with the next installment taking place this Tuesday, 21 June at 0900 Ottawa time. Jeremy Wallace – long-time PAFSO member and GAC Champion for Official Languages – will join us to discuss the latest on language issues at GAC and share with us his vision for his new portfolio. Click here to register for the session.
Once again, I’d like to remind everyone that the 2022 PAFSO Photo Contest launched a few weeks ago and is now accepting submissions. The contest runs until Friday, 5 August and you can get all the contest details by clicking here.
On a sad note, the past couple of weeks have been a difficult time for our Foreign Service community. On 8 June, we lost former PAFSO member Ken Sunquist who had served at numerous missions abroad including as Ambassador to Indonesia, and as Chief Trade Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Minister for Africa and Asia. A day later, we mourned the passing of Deborah Chatsis, 1998 PAFSO Award recipient and Canada’s first female ambassador from a First Nations community. Both colleagues are remembered for their dedication to Canada and their generous mentorship of young Foreign Service officers. They will be sadly missed.
Finally, please don’t forget that we are always here for you should you have any concerns about your situation at work. Whatever arises, do not hesitate to contact our Executive Director, Kim Coles. She will make sure to put you in contact with one of our labour relations advisors. For all other inquiries, just send an email to info@pafso.com, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.
It feels like summer took an eternity to get here. So, if you are in the NCR, or anywhere else where the weather is finally nice, please make sure to make the most of it. July first is coming up in two weeks, and as my next message will not reach you until 22 July, I want to wish all of our members a fantastic Canada Day. I hope all of you get the chance to celebrate with loved ones wherever you are in the world.
We’ll chat again at the end of July. Until then, take good care of yourselves, and of each other.
All the best,
Pam Isfeld
President