City of Ottawa employees can’t 'work out of Jamaica' under hybrid model: city manager
City of Ottawa employees hoping for a future of permanently working from home: think again.
Municipal workers will be expected to come into the office when their bosses ask them to, city manager Steve Kanellakos said Wednesday.
“I certainly don’t support that there be this permanency of,,,you never have to show up, or you can go down to Jamaica and work out of Jamaica and never have to come back to the office,” he told reporters. “I don’t think that’s the way to run a city.”
About 75 per cent of the city’s 17,000 employees haven’t worked from home during the pandemic because their jobs require them to be out in the field, not in an office.
But for the more than 4,000 people that work out of the city’s three main administrative buildings—City Hall, 100 Constellation Drive and Ben Franklin Place—the city is working toward a hybrid model.
“Hybrid means that you’ll be required to come into the office when your boss needs you to come in … and that you will also be permitted to work from home when required,” Kanellakos said.
Some employees might be required to come in one to two days week depending on their role, he added.
“We’re going to be flexible with our employees to try and determine how many days a week they need to come back.”
Just under half of those employees are already back in some form or are on their way back to starting in January, Kanellakos said.
“We’ll be growing that as we proceed into the new year,” he said. “We’re moving at a really good pace, at a safe pace, to get our employees back in some form in our administrative buildings.”
The federal public service has been slower in developing a plan to bring workers back to the office. Most public servants are still working from home, and there’s no clear timeline on if and when they’ll come back.
Mayor Jim Watson has said he’s working with Mona Fortier, the new president of the Treasury Board, to get federal workers back into offices downtown.
Council could return in January
Although Parliament resumed this week in-person, Wednesday’s council meeting was held as they have been for the past 20 months: Watson sitting in the council chamber and councillors joining on Zoom.
But the mayor said he hopes council can return to in-person sessions early in the new year.
“The latest briefing I received was that the clerk is looking at us coming back sometime in January,” he said.
The return would need to be cleared from the clerk and Ottawa Public Health, he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Still so much love between us,' Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
What to know about avian influenza in dairy cows and the risk to humans
Why is H5N1, or bird flu, a concern, how does it spread, and is there a vaccine? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about avian influenza.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Pro-plastic lobbyist presence at UN talks is 'troubling,' say advocates
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
'Too young to have breast cancer': Rates among young Canadian women rising
Breast cancer rates are rising in Canada among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, according to research by the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
$70M Lotto Max winners kept prize a secret from family for 2 months
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Courteney Cox says her partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in therapy
Courteney Cox's longtime partner Johnny McDaid once broke up with her in a therapy session.