Passport officials and other service Canada employees have been overwhelmed by the demand for the past few weeks, saying, “The importance of taking leave has been conveyed by email to make the company more productive.
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Newspaper Received a screenshot of a message to its staff from Canada’s Department of Employment and Community Development (ESDC).
With a picture reminiscent of the holidays, with palm trees and suitcases, the ministry reminds us that it is important to relax.
“Taking your vacation is not just an investment in your mental and physical health,” it says.
“It also brings direct and measurable benefits to your company’s performance,” the department says.
Joined by NewspaperThe union of the Public Service Coalition was shocked by this communication.
Yvonne Barrier, regional executive vice president of the Alliance for Quebec, said in an interview, “I would like to be encouraged and say there will be solutions, but no, that’s nonsense.” Newspaper.
The latter points out that in the last days, many agents sometimes work until late at night.
“People finish work at two-thirty in the morning and work on Saturdays. They have their profession at heart, ”he said. Barrier promises.
Very few jobs
The bad news for travelers is that the union has not seen a return to normalcy for months and training for new agents will only begin in early August.
“At the beginning of autumn, in September-October, I hope we can finally return to normal and reduce the time required for applications from 15 to 20 days,” he underlined.
Speaking on QUB Radio’s microphone, he condemned the lack of foresight of the ministry in charge, which now puts office workers in a hostile working environment.
“In Laval offices, there are insulted employees. One of them even spit! We live in extraordinary circumstances. If the ministry had been the forerunner of the last fall, we would not have this problem at this time, ”he lamented.
He said the management had not taken action as the union was asking for more workers than last year.
“It simply came to our notice then. They mainly employ citizen service agents who do data entry, they are not passport agents, ”he notes.
The Saint-Laurent office is said to have lost about 15 passport officers since the outbreak began. At the strategic center of the Guy-Favreau campus in Montreal, 24 of the 39 agents left.
