Job Discussion Forums

[kellygreen]

Letter sent from CNA President late Thursday evening concerning the new employment contracts - well, actually not really.

They're coming, they've been held up because of litigation, must be signed in Canada by you or your proxy (by power of attorney) in Canada.

Nothing substantive about when, terms and conditions, etc. will be communicated. The letter does definitively state that the employment contract is considered to be a Canadian one and as such subject to the Canadian (and presumably Newfoundland and Labrador) Labour Codes.

Sunday morning meetings at the water cooler should provide very interesting conversations.

[Danimac112]

Hi. I just interviewed last week for a position at CNAQ, and have just recently become aware of the uncertainties regarding contracts. I would have a very short turn=around for giving notice on my current contract, si I am wondering weather it looks like the hiring process might be fast-tracked. have you heard anything about this. It seems like an awfully large number of people who would all need to be processed very quickly.

I was also wondering if it is possible to continue being taxed as a non-resident if I am a Canadian working at CNAQ, and if not, approximately how much tax is taken off.

Many thanks.

[kellygreen]

This is a statement made pertaining to contracts (and pensioners) 4 days ago. http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&id=34620&latest=1

"The President of the College of the North Atlantic says retirees working in Qatar are being treated no differently than all other employees. Ann Marie Vaughan was responding to criticism by Liberal Andrew Parsons who said last week that pensioners from Newfoundland and Labrador are being forced to go through the job ad process when pensioners from other provinces are not.

Vaughan says retirees are competing for positions, but so too she says is everyone else.

She says it's a move to a more open and transparent hiring process where people will compete on an annual basis for positions. All the positions, Vaughan says, are fixed-term and there are 180 positions open this year."

It's not clear on whether pensioners or all employees are subject to annual competition process???

It is doubtful the hiring process can be expedited as too much is dependent on external factors beyond college control.

All diplomas/certificates/transcripts have to be submitted, if you are married and/or have children, certificates have to be authenticated, everyone has to get the pre medical medical and submit those results, security checks, etc. etc.

Then it all goes to the MOI for assessment/approval - Ramadan starts about July 10 with shorter government working hours and usually a reduced staff at government offices (because it is summer too) followed by the Eid holiday that takes the timeline to the 3rd week of August IF all the paperwork is correct, accepted, approved for 180 people - and if the new contract terms and conditions are not agreeable to all the offerees, that number could rise.

You determine your tax status by filling out the application for non-residency for tax purposes found on the CRA website.

[kellygreen]

Apparently the letter from the CNA President was supposed to be a pre-emptive strike for an article published the next morning in the main Newfoundland newspaper

http://thetelegram.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx

While not independently verifiable, apparently the plaintiff in the ESG case who was "unsuccessful" also did not receive a copy of the court's decision directly which seems odd or perhaps someone can shed light on if this is SOP in GCC court cases?

[TeacherNan]

Has anyone that interviewed recently heard back?

[smedini]

[TeacherNan]

Thank you. I interviewed a week after you. There's still hope

[Lal]

Interviewed on May 29th, informed I would have results by May 31 or early this week. Still no news. Has anyone who recently interviewed had any feedback, contract offer?

[kellygreen]

The only party who has to meet deadlines is you. CNA nor CNAQ has a good record on meeting their own self imposed deadlines (they are not alone in this respect in the GCC).

Terms and conditions have been posted for the new contracts, however, we have not seen what is on offer on an individual basis (i.e. salary, length of contract, etc.) and may not see it until July.

Lots of legaleze in the terms and conditions, whether they apply in Qatar remains to be determined.

[TeacherNan]

[TeacherNan]

[Lal]

Yes, I'd be curious to know when new hires do have news. Being in Canada, the visa application process could theoretically be begun soon after offers were made.

[kellygreen]

None of the current employees have been given an offer yet. Possibly, we won't even see our particular contracts until July. None of us know for a fact that we will be offered new contracts at all yet although we probably will.

We have been told because of the volume, the contracts will take a long time to prepare and distribute.

Ramadan starts in about 30 days, which will slow down the Qatari government processing times - new hires still have to provide the needed documents before that process can even begin should they receive an offer. Visa applications can't begin without the required documents, preliminary security checks and medical reports done by the potential employee in Canada (or wherever they might be located).

This is not to be discouraging, just the facts of what is happening currently with existing employees and the requirements and the processes involved for new hires.

[TeacherNan]

[Lal]

The above is not unfamiliar to me. All said however, there is yet another short month until Ramadan during which the required documents can be procured by new hires. I'd also like to imagine that those in the hiring position are very well aware of this tight time frame. That said, plans B, C and D, etc. should definitely be in place ...