Federal union calls for Commons committee to investigate 3-day a week office mandate

File photo of a federal government building in Ottawa. (CTV News Ottawa)

A federal union is calling for a Commons committee to launch an investigation into the federal government's new return-to-office policy, saying there has been "catastrophic failures" with the new mandate.

As of Sept. 9, federal employees in the core federal public service are required to be in the office a minimum of three days a week, while executives must be in the office four days a week.

The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) wants the Standing Committee of Government Operations and Estimates to investigate the new office mandate.

"We are greatly concerned that we are witnessing the erosion of excellence due to poorly designed and implemented workplace policies," Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said in a letter to the committee, adding "federal public sector employees are facing unprecedented turmoil in the workplace."

"The government’s recent three-day return-to-office policy has proven ineffective for thousands of our members. Promoted as a means to enhance collaboration, many employees find themselves commuting to the office only to participate in MS Teams meetings with colleagues located in different parts of the building, city, or even across the country."

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Prier says the return-to-office mandate has been "fraught with distractions and inefficiencies," including limited office space and a "cumbersome hotelling booking system."

The union wants the Commons committee investigation to look at several issues, including insufficient workspaces, "health and safety violations," the noisy office environment, inadequate equipment, limited meeting and collaboration spaces, work-life balance and "impact on stress and anxiety."

"Employees frequently experience stress and anxiety due to the struggle to find workspace, unreliable booking systems, and a general lack of resources," Prier says.

CAPE says most of its members have been working from home for more than four years, "with no issues of productivity."

The Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Professional Institute of the Public Service, CAPE and other unions have opposed the new return-to-office mandate. In August, the Federal Court agreed to hear PSAC's application to quash the new office mandate, but a court date has not been set.

The federal government shifted to a work from home environment at the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020. In 2023, the government introduced a requirement for workers to be in the office a minimum of two days a week.

Treasury Board President Anita Anand has said the decision to move to a three-days-a-week office mandate was made by the public service, and it was "not a political decision,"

The Canadian Association of Professional Employees represents 27,000 federal workers.