WORLDWIDE STRIKES AT CANADIAN EMBASSIES!

Global strike hits Canada 

education, holiday plans

Amanda Fisher (amanda@khaleejtimes.com) / 31 July 2013

UAE residents are canning holidays to Canada, while prospective students are biting their fingernails as even longer wait times for the notoriously slow Canadian visa threaten their futures, due to strikes at Canadian embassies worldwide.

An international strike by all eligible political, commercial, economic and immigration staff hit Canadian embassies and consulate generals around the globe on Tuesday, after an earlier strike by immigration staff on Monday at the 15 biggest hubs around the world, including the embassy in Abu Dhabi, as a result of a long-running pay dispute. Immigration staff will remain on strike indefinitely, with university start dates just weeks away in September.
It is understood about one-third of the Canadian mission’s 34 UAE-based Canadian staff striked on Tuesday. A statement from Canada’s foreign service union the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, which represents 1,350 workers, said foreign service officers were paid up to Dh50,000 a year less than government colleagues in Canada.
Dubai-based immigration consultant Mustafa Kantawala, who specialises in Canadian visas at Bayat Legal Services, said the eight clients he had who were waiting on visas from the embassy were getting extremely frustrated. “Many plan vacations every year but because of this problem, I’ve told them a delay can be expected so they’ve changed their holiday plans to go to UK, Schengen countries (and the US).”
As part of the months-long dispute, staff had refused to work overtime since April, which had led to an even bigger backlog than usual, he said.
“People are being affected because of this...already the Canadian embassy has a bad name in terms of processing, they are known as the slowest.”
Kantawala said it usually took a month to process visas — depending on nationality — but he had clients who had been waiting two months with no information, while delays in responding to inquiries had blown out from several days to two weeks.
The spat would likely have a negative impact on the country’s tourism and education sectors, with Canada the second-most popular destination for Arab students to study, according to a recent Al Aan poll.
“Student cases are very sensitive, they have to reach the university before it starts, they have to complete the entrance exam within the stipulated time,” Kantawalla said.
CEO of Middle East immigration company Premiers Group Imran Farooq said there had been student visa delays for the past eight months, while family sponsorship cases had faced delays for years.
“Now because of the strike...the delays are going to be even worse.”
Potential student visa applicants were abstaining because of the risk of losing initial fee deposits if visas did not come through in time. Farooq said there had been applicants waiting for their applications to clear since 2005.
“The processing times were already not very efficient at the Canadian Embassies and consulates, (and) the current crisis for sure is making the situation even worse. Canada used be a dream destination (but visa issues have affected) potential immigrants big time.”
Diplomatic consultant and QDiplomacy magazine editor Mobisher Rabbani said the stoush could damage Canada’s international image.
“People look up to Canada as being a large enconomy and a very propserous country (but) this brings around a very negative image of Canada as not being what it used to.”
He said foreign service officers should actually be getting more because of the sacrifice of uprooting their lives every few years.
Excerpts from a Canadian foreign service workers website, foreignservicereality.com, include one officer on whose street nine people were shot — many who died.
Another laments having to uproot family every few years and remain away from loved ones at home.
“For our level of professionalism, dedication on the job, and the many sacrifices that we make, asking the government to provide equal pay for equal work seems a very reasonable request.”
A Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development spokeswoman told Khaleej Times the department “recognises and respects” the workers’ right to strike.
“The Department has contingency plans to address any job actions, including work stoppages (and) is monitoring the situation very closely and will take any necessary action to ensure that we continue to provide services to Canadians at home and abroad.”
Meanwhile, Citizenship and Immigration Canada said it had hired temporary staff to help with work loads.

A spokesman said processing of urgent humanitarian visa applications was essential work in all visa offices, while he recommended that students who were concerned their applications would not be processed before their course start date submit a letter from their institute, indicating what date they would still be accepted in by. He said anyone applying for a visa should submit their application as far in advance as possible.