Federal public servants must return to office two or three days a week

Federal public servants will be required to return to the office for two or three days a week, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier announced Thursday.

Employees in the core public service across all departments must begin phasing in a return-to-office plan in mid-January, working in the office two or three days per week, or 40 to 60 per cent of their regular schedule.

"In-person work better supports collaboration, team spirit, innovation and a culture of belonging," Fortier told reporters at a news conference. "We're not going to back to the way things used to be. We're reimagining our workplace."

The plan will be fully implemented by the end of March 2023, Fortier said, and be overseen by the government's chief human resources officer.

Many public servants began working from home full-time when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Since earlier this year, government departments have been making their own decisions about remote and hybrid work, with several opting for a remote work model.

Fortier said on Thursday that the government needs consistency across all departments.

"After six months, we realized that there was inconsistencies in the system, for example, fairness and equity," Fortier said. "We need consistency in how hybrid work is applied across the federal government. … We need to have a common approach."

Conservative MP Ryan Williams said it was "about time" the government required civil servants to return to the office.

"It should be January 1 and 5 days a week," Williams, the MP for Bay of Quinte, said on Twitter. "Hybrid only with exceptions."

Union demands government halt 'punitive' plan

Public sector unions have strongly opposed a mandated return to the office for federal bureaucrats, saying their members have been working from home effectively for two and a half years. They immediately panned the plan on Thursday.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said on Twitter the move "flies in the face of workers' rights and their proven record serving communities remotely--for YEARS."

"Our position on remote work for federal public service workers remains the same: it's an issue for the bargaining table," said the union, which represents nearly 230,000 workers.

PSAC President Chris Aylward tells CTV News Ottawa the return to the office proposal is a "poorly planned and a kneejerk reaction" from the Liberal government.

"Arbitrarily announcing that workers are to come back to the workplace two to three days per week, right before the holidays with zero consultation with the unions is an absolute disrespect to workers who've made sacrifices for Canadians," Aylward said. "We are currently reviewing all of our options that we have on the table."

Aylward says PSAC has been at the negotiating table since June 2021, and the hybrid working model is an issue in the talks.

"For Treasury Board to unilaterally now change the terms and conditions of our members' employment and imposing a mandatory return to offices is an egregious violation of workers collective bargaining rights," Aylward said.

"We want this government to come to the bargaining table, negotiate remote work so that we can enshrine it in our collective agreement."

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is accusing the federal government of choosing to "bulldoze through a bad plan that sets themselves up for an unnecessary fight."

"For over 2 years we've been saying that any return to office plan must have purpose, and prioritize employee productivity as well as their health and safety," PIPSC President Jennifer Carr said in a statement.

"This plan has none of that: it's poorly thought out, punitive and makes no sense whatsoever – and we're not going to compromise on health and safety."

PIPSIC, which represents 70,000 scientists and professionals in the federal and some provincial governments, says telework is on the table in new contract negotiations with Treasury Board.

"This doesn’t set the stage for good faith negotiations with the employer. With the holidays around the corner, the timing of this announcement also adds insult to injury," PIPSC said.

Fortier told reporters that "location of work is the right of the employer."

Hybrid work model "beneficial" to OC Transpo and the downtown, Ottawa mayor's says

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe supports the federal government's plan for a hybrid work model.

"The federal government is the largest employer in Ottawa, and having clarity around the future of its workforce is critical for our local economy," Sutcliffe said in a statement. "When public servants return to government offices, it will be beneficial to both our public transit system and our downtown."

Ottawa's public transit system is operating with less than 60 per cent of pre-pandemic ridership this fall, in part due to the federal government's work-from-home setup for public servants.

Gatineau's mayor applauded Fortier for the "balance" of the return to work plan.

"The hybrid formula and the return to public servants to the offices is good news for Gatineau and the vitality of our downtown," Mayor France Belisle said on Twitter in French. "This clear directive will allow merchants to better plan and optimize public transit."

'Very limited' exceptions

A backgrounder document from Treasury Board says exceptions "may be warraned in a very limited set of circumstances" and must be approved by management.

Those possible exceptions include:

• Employees hired to work remotely before March 16, 2020
• Indigenous public servants
• Exemptions on a case-by-case basis such as illness, short-term operational requirements or other extenuating circumstances
• If there's a relevant business case for the employee to work remotely
• Employees who are working remotely 125 kilometres or more from their designated worksite
• A business model was previously established and not influenced by the remote-by-default COVID-19 arrangement

Employees who are unable to work onsite can request accomodation on a case-by-case basis through their department, the backgrounder says.