Federal union files complaint against CRA over work-from-home rules
Federal union files complaint against CRA over work-from-home rules
The Canada Revenue Agency sign outside the National Headquarters at the Connaught Building in Ottawa is seen on Monday, March 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)
One of Canada's largest unions representing public servants has filed a bad-faith bargaining complaint against the Canada Revenue Agency over what it's calling an "about-face" on the issue of working from home.
The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada filed the complaint over the issue of telework at the bargaining table, the union said in a news release.
The complaint comes as the federal Treasury Board's rules mandating federal public service workers return to the office at least two days a week are gradually being implemented across the government.
PIPSC said their negotiators and the CRA had exchanged proposals about working from home, which employees had been doing since March 2020.
However, at a bargaining meeting last month, the CRA said it no longer had any intention of including any work language in the collective agreement, PIPSC said.
"You cannot just remove a core issue from the table – which has been established as a top priority for members – and call it anything other than a bad faith maneuver," PIPSC President Jennifer Carr said in the news release. "The CRA's about-face subverts what has already been accomplished at the table and delays or even prevents the conclusion of an agreement."
PIPSC represents more than 14,000 AFS members employed at the CRA, and 70,000 members overall.
In a statement, a CRA spokesman said the agency is committed to reaching a new collective agreement that is fair to employees and respectful of Canadian taxpayers.
"The CRA intends to maintain key flexibilities in its application of its Directive on Virtual Work Arrangements," said Adam Blondin, the agency’s director of public affairs. "The CRA has continuously engaged the unions on how we will navigate our journey to a hybrid work environment, and will continue to do so."
The government instituted its new hybrid work model across the public service last month, requiring employees to work in the office two or three days a week. Many employees had been working remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shift is happening gradually, with all departments required to have the new hybrid work model in place by the end of March.
PIPSC and the Public Service Alliance of Canada have expressed staunch opposition to the plan, calling it a one-size-fits all approach.
"The pandemic forced governments to modernize labour practices, and these practices need to be embedded into employee contracts," Carr said. "It protects everyone. It's just good labour practice."
PSAC filed its own labour board complaint against the federal government in December over the hybrid work plan.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Flying over the Grand Canyon was a highlight for the Gellisen family during their trip to Phoenix, but their flight home to Toronto was a much different experience, with several family members forced off of the flight over tensions related to a teen's wheelchair.
Despite delayed decision-making by parliamentarians, Canada's massive renovation of Parliament Hill's Centre Block is being effectively managed so far, according to a new audit. However, 'rigorous' cost management will be needed as the work proceeds, cautions auditor general Karen Hogan.
Another harmful substance is spreading within Canada's unregulated street drug supply and, without more aggressive intervention from policymakers, one expert says a growing number of people could be at risk of serious illness, injury or death.
Lettuce prices are likely to rise next month and could stay high into the summer, agriculture experts say, as flooding in a key California farming area becomes the latest example of extreme weather's effect on the food chain.
Police have identified a teenager who died after being stabbed in an ‘unprovoked’ attack at a Toronto subway station Saturday night, and have charged an adult male suspect with his murder.
The federal auditor general says two-thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, and is highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
A Royal Canadian Navy frigate departed Halifax today as part of the federal government's wider strategy of boosting its presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Ontario has reached a funding agreement with optometrists that increases some payments to them, but reduces some coverage for patients, including less frequent general eye exams for seniors.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
Nearly five years after the legalization of marijuana in Canada, one local cannabis retailer feels Manitoba should be more proactive and flexible when it comes to regulating pot sales in our province.
A 49-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a weapon in connection to injuries suffered by a 50-year-old woman in Cambridge.
The appreciation and respect shown by the public after two Edmonton Police Service officers were killed in the line of duty has not gone unnoticed, their families said in a statement ahead of the regimental funeral on Monday.
The Saskatoon Blades' last two home games of the season have been against the Regina Pats, and with top NHL prospect Connor Bedard drawing big crowds wherever he's playing, almost 30,000 fans have come through the turnstiles at Sasktel Centre.
City administrators are calling for a design change on Main Street and Clarence Avenue that would prevent vehicles from using Main Street as a thoroughfare rather than 8th Street.
The appreciation and respect shown by the public after two Edmonton Police Service officers were killed in the line of duty has not gone unnoticed, their families said in a statement ahead of the regimental funeral on Monday.
The procession for two Edmonton police officers who were killed in the line of duty is scheduled to leave the Alberta Legislature grounds toward Rogers Place at approximately 11:45 a.m.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
The 2023 federal budget includes a 'grocery rebate' that will be offered to Canadians with lower incomes who may be struggling with the rising cost of food, CTV News has confirmed.
The Canada Revenue Agency sign outside the National Headquarters at the Connaught Building in Ottawa is seen on Monday, March 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang)
