ABU DHABI // Canadian diplomats in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Riyadh staged a protest walkout yesterday.
The envoys work in the political, commercial, economic and immigration sections of the embassies.
The industrial action is in addition to a series of rotating strikes by embassy staff that began in April in a pay dispute between the diplomats' trade union and the Canadian government.
Diplomats in Canada's 140-plus missions abroad, including the United Nations and Brussels, sacrificed a day's salary yesterday to mount more pressure on their government.
There are an estimated 40,000 Canadian residents in the UAE and 150 Canadian companies operate in the country. The UAE is Canada's biggest trade partner among Middle East and North African countries.
The mass walkout is the latest move since the union included Canada's visa sections in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh in a list of 15 cities involved in the industrial action.
A strike by immigration officials at the Abu Dhabi embassy began on Monday. They are responsible for processing all Canadian visitor, worker, student and resident visa applications from the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. It is not known how long the strike will continue.
"In light of the large number of visa officers that have withdrawn service, the inventory of applications is growing and, as a result, processing times are longer," said the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, the union representing Canadian foreign service officials.
"Applicants of all types should expect delays, which may unfortunately lead to missed vacations to Canada, and possibly delayed start dates for those applying for study permits or work permits."
VFS Global, an outsourcing company in Abu Dhabi contracted to take in visa applications for Canada, was still accepting documents and passports from applicants yesterday. Staff did not tell them immigration officials were on strike.
Some applicants were told to delay proposed trips and others who knew about the strike were worried their visas would not come on time.
Charlene Mani, a 24-year-old Indian, recently graduated from Canada's University of Windsor. After a summer break in Abu Dhabi, she hoped to secure a work permit for Canada.
"My family in Abu Dhabi will be very happy if the strike means that my application will be delayed," she said. "But I'm definitely worried. It would mean I would have to stay here longer and I have made zero plans for an extended stay."
Cameroonian security guard Pierre Mbah said he had been working and studying in Dubai for the past five years to save money and be able to do his MBA masters programme at the University of Western Ontario.
"I applied to US and Canadian universities and my decision to go to Canada was based on the better living conditions there and the opportunity to even start a family," said the 29-year-old Public Health and Safety graduate.
"It is a shame that my decision and my plans have to be altered due to an issue such as a strike over pay, this situation makes me think that the conditions in Canada are not dissimilar to what we have back home."
Syrian Khayrallah Ibrahim was asked to delay his travel plans by three weeks. He had to leave the VFS office and call his travel agent to extend his departure date to August 27.
"I'm hoping to go to Edmonton to visit my aunt and grandmother," he said.
Amal Al Kamel, from Iraq, hoped to receive her family's permanent residency visas this month, after receiving a call to deliver their passports to the embassy. Time is crucial for her, a mother of two, as she travels and settles into her new home.
"I hope the strike won't last too long, otherwise the children might miss their first few weeks of school and we might have to alter some of our plans."
halsayegh@thenational.ae
* with additional reporting by Awad Mustafa