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One lost generation :
How will it be for the next one?

by Marie-José Brossard.Jurkovich

The FSCA has for many years confidently militated in favour of issues related to spousal employment. At the forefront of these is the lack of income or, in the best cases, the decrease in income and the corresponding pension for the duration of a posting. The second point relates to delayed career progression, when there is a career, and the third to the difficulty in obtaining employment both abroad and in Ottawa. Progress has been made over the past twenty years to remedy some of the problems identified, but it has not been sufficient to keep up with changes in Canadian society and to meet the increasingly pressing expectations of spouses.

Twenty five years ago we had nothing, and some results obtained by our action were quickly apparent. Today, we have to recognize that we still have not met our most important goals. The steps taken to obtain a pension or financial compensation have so far been to no avail. Our quite legitimate requests for an exception to the Employment Assurance Act to enable those who have contributed to the plan to receive employment insurance benefits when leaving on posting or on returning from a posting have been in vain up until now.

In addition, some projects that were developed have not proved over time to be as efficient as they might have been. The number of reciprocity agreements with States where Canada is represented continues to increase, but applying them often seems to be an obstacle course for spouses who are anxious to work as quickly as possible after arriving on posting and before the time comes to prepare for departure and start all over again elsewhere. Community Coordinator positions have been created in many missions but they attract fewer and fewer applicants for lack of adequate salaries. We were certainly very pleased when an international spousal employment database was set up a few years ago. This database is now being revised in the hope of making it more user friendly, but we are still waiting for an adequate promotion campaign to be put in place to guarantee optimum results.

In the fall, the FSCA President, Judith Wiesinger, the FSCA Spousal Employment Counsellor, Suzanne Beaulieu-Gingras, and I met with senior officials at DFAIT, CIC and Treasury Board to take stock of all these questions. Each time, we came up against inflexible government regulations or a lack of financial resources. This didn't stop us presenting a list - of ever increasing length - of measures that could be taken in whole or in part to improve the living conditions of spouses and partners. Above all, we are convinced that mentalities must change to reflect changes in Canadian society, and that the status of spouse of a foreign service officer must mirror the one he or she has in normal life, i.e., that of a partner and not a dependant.

The Executive Committee should evaluate the action undertaken by the FSCA up to now and perhaps determine a new approach to achieve these objectives.

Spousal Employment

Actions recommended by the FSCA TO DFAIT AND CIC

  1. Provide significant financial compensation for the lack of, or reduction in, a spouse's income during an employee's postings abroad. This compensation must not be considered as payment for services rendered.
  2. Take necessary action so that spouses who have contributed to the employment insurance plan and have become unemployed receive employment insurance benefits or, where relevant, equivalent financial compensation.
  3. Intervene with the appropriate authorities so that spouses who are public service employees and who accompany their spouse on posting abroad are exempt from the five-year limit on leave-without-pay that applies to employees of the Canadian Public Service.
  4. Establish reciprocity agreements with States where Canada does not have one. Reinforce their implementation where they exist. Provide the services of a local intermediary to obtain work permits.
  5. Instruct heads of mission to provide spouses with the support and means necessary to obtain employment in the country of accreditation both within the embassy and on the local market. Request them to report on the results of DFAIT's policy on the issue.
  6. Promote the spousal employment database at headquarters, at other departments and also at Canadian businesses abroad, other embassies and international organizations.
  7. Provide in all missions the services of an job researching office (headhunter) for all spouses as soon as a posting is announced. If necessary, pay travel costs for interviews before arrival at the post.
  8. Facilitate the employment of spouses as locally engaged staff - both support and professional - with salaries adjusted to Canadian salary standards when local standards are lower. Create and/or reserve these positions.
  9. Explore possibilities of distance employment for spouses abroad and promote it at relevant departments in Ottawa.
  10. Establish agreements and develop means with the other departments represented abroad to facilitate the employment of spouses as locally engaged employees.
  11. Offer second-language courses up to the advanced level to all spouses to ease the search for employment both abroad and in Ottawa.
  12. Systematically offer intensive courses up to the advanced level in the national language of the country of posting.
  13. Offset higher tuition fees abroad for all spouses who wish to study at the post-secondary level in order to catch up on their career progression.
  14. Pay at least once a year the equivalent of the cost of a trip to Ottawa for a spouse at post who has chosen to take correspondence courses at a Canadian university.
  15. Give spouses the opportunity to be trained in consular and immigration matters, political, economic and commercial affairs, so that they can be accepted in high-level, locally engaged positions.
  16. Re-evaluate the responsibilities and job requirements of the community coordinator in accordance with the conditions at each post, and set out criteria for reasonable and fair payment. Adjust the salaries accordingly.
  17. Maintain and enhance the position of career guidance counsellor at DFAIT ensuring that the person is familiar with all aspects inherent in life abroad and the return to Ottawa.
  18. Continue to provide special workshops for spouses on issues related to employment and careers.

Executive committee for the FSCA

The General Assembly for the association will take place in April 2003. This date was selected so as to allow members of the committee to get together in May to start preparing the program that must be implemented in September. The positions which will be open for nominations are president, 1st & 2nd vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and editor of the bulletin. More details will be communicated to you in the near future.

Members of the nomination committee are:
Marie-José Brossard-Jurkovich: (819)772 - 4396, jurkovich.amj@videotron.ca
Raja Bailey: (613) 748-3027, raja_bailey@hotmail.com
Edith Dandenault- Swain: (819) 772-2758, msd26@hotmail.com