Federal employees now required to be in the office 3 days a week

As tens of thousands of public servants return to the office for a minimum of three days a week this week, public service unions and some workers are expressing frustration with the federal government's new hybrid work policy.

"It's challenging. We were told there isn't enough desk space for everyone, so we're not quite sure how this is going to work," Leah said while attending a union protest in downtown Ottawa Monday morning.

"We've heard the term hunger games thrown around quite a bit in terms of desk booking, which is not how I want to go into the workday."

Starting this week, federal employees in the core public service will be required to be in the office a minimum of three days a week, and executives will need to be on-site a minimum of four days.  

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The new requirements apply to 282,152 employees in the core public service, with the government recommending that departments and agencies outside the core public service adopt a similar strategy.

However, some federal departments say they do not have enough space to accommodate workers in the office three days a week. Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) says all executives will be required on-site a minimum of four days a week, while all other employees must report to the office a minimum of two days per week.

"HICC has undertaken an accommodations review and confirmed that our offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) at 180 Kent St. and 427 Laurier Ave. do not currently have enough room for full implementation of the updated common hybrid work model, because the department has experienced significant growth to support our expanded mandate," HICC said. 

"While we do not yet have a specific timeframe for when additional space will be available for HICC employees in the NCR, we are actively working with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to seek solutions for full implementation of the updated common hybrid work model."

Statistics Canada does not have sufficient office space for employees in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) and other federal unions organized a rally in downtown Ottawa for the first day of the new hybrid work requirements.

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"What we want is a remote work policy with consultation that actually works," Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, told CTV Morning Live on Monday.

"We want the future of the federal public service to be more innovative, that meets the needs – not just of the public but meets the needs of the workers as well. What we want is the future of work to be different, to be more inclusive, work-life balance."

Federal unions held a rally in downtown Ottawa on Monday to protest the federal government's new hybrid work rules. One sign reads, "Sorry about the traffic, I have to commute to a video call." (Katie Griffin/CTV News Ottawa)

DeSousa says there are problems with federal buildings, including bats, mice, bed bugs and a lack of space.

"It makes no sense in going back to a workplace that doesn’t meet the needs of the workers. It makes no sense when they're able to do it from home comfortably and be able to meet their own work-life balance needs," DeSousa said.

Public service worker Scarlott Kelly says there have been no consultations from the employer on the new policy.

"Personally, I work in policy. I need to read, I need to think. In the office, it's not a good environment. There are too many voices, there's no privacy," Kelly said.

"At home, there's way more security, there's way more space and way more quietness to think and to work. So I cannot work, technically, in the office."

The PIPSC has said it will deliver a petition to department deputy ministers, "demanding approval of a mass departmental exemption to return to office."

Last month, the Federal Court agreed to hear PSAC's application to quash the new three-day-a-week office mandate, but a court date has not been set. PSAC has also launched a $1-million advertising campaign to protest the new office mandate and is urging members to sign an online petition calling on the government to repeal the office mandate.

DeSousa says she doesn't buy the federal government's statements that in-office work is about "office culture or collaboration."

"They're still meeting virtually, make it make sense. Why are you going in? Just to log in and meet with people virtually. Makes no sense."

The federal government has said it has jurisdiction to make changes to the hybrid work arrangements, adding it’s not in the collective agreements agreed to in 2023. 

In advance of employees returning to work, the government said Public Services and Procurement Canada has been working with departments to prepare office spaces.

“As issues arise, we are committed to working quickly to respond to them. We also know that some departments will need additional time to ensure their workplaces are ready, such as buildings that are currently under renovation," said a letter to employees on Sept. 3. "All organizations will be actively seeking employee feedback so that the transition to additional on-site work is marked by open exchanges and ongoing improvement.”

Statistics Canada says it won't be able to accommodate all workers at offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal this fall.

"Statistics Canada is well positioned to implement the revised direction on prescribed presence in the workplace, which comes into effect on September 9, 2024. The agency has sufficient space to accommodate employees except for the Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal offices," StatsCan said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa. 

"A formal notification was sent to employees indicating that the office capacity in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal is currently insufficient to meet the upcoming 60 per cent on-site requirement scheduled for September 9, 2024, due to a limited number of desks. As a result, employees in these regions will continue with their 40 per cent on-site schedule until further notice."

In March 2023, the Treasury Board Secretariat introduced a "common hybrid work model" for the core public administration, requiring employees to be in the office at least two or three days a week.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is hopeful the new hybrid work rules will be a boost to downtown Ottawa, noting there has been a 38 per cent drop in visits to the downtown core for work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The more people who are downtown the better it is for our economy, and we don't want to have a hollowed out downtown core," Sutcliffe told Newstalk 580 CFRA's The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll.

"I'm hopeful we're going to see more activity, more vibrancy in the downtown core in the weeks ahead."

Business owners happy to see workers return

The back-to-office mandate is seen as a positive development for Ottawa's beleaguered transit system, that has been plagued by low ridership and financial headaches.

It's also good news for many businesses in the downtown core that say they are pleased to see more federal workers milling about.

"Having more people come in and sharing our food with them makes us happy. It's like a win-win for everyone. People will have good food, and good times. We will have good business as well and we'll have more hours for everyone," said Nour Sakhniya, manager of Mr. Fez Shawarma.

"It's not just the lunch rush for us. We get the outside dinner rush because people leave their work, and they might grab something on their way home."

Across the street at Paradise Poké, Monday's lunch rush was already showing signs of a bounce back.

"So far, so good! It looks good. Mondays are typically slower for us. I think there are traditionally less people in the office on Mondays so we're hopeful," said Ryan Moleiro, owner of Paradise Poké.

"We've always been pretty busy, and we are very grateful for that, but it's definitely slower the last couple years and harder than before COVID."

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Katie Griffin and Austin Lee