One of the unions representing Canada’s public servants is calling on Parliament to investigate the decision behind the three-day return-to-office mandate which took effect last month.
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE), which represents more than 25,000 members, wants the standing committee on government operations and estimates (OGGO) to investigate what it calls the “catastrophic failures” surrounding the policy.
“We’ve seen over and over again just a complete unwillingness to provide any data or provide any backing for the decisions of the employer,” Nathan Prier, president of CAPE, told Global News on Monday.
“We’ve lost confidence in senior management across the board here because they’re clearly not able to handle themselves. We don’t know who they’re serving, but like I’ve said before, we don’t think it’s Canadian taxpayers … and they’re definitely not speaking on behalf of their workforce.”
The return-to-office mandate was announced in May, with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat — effectively a central nerve agency for federal departments — updating its policy to require employees to work from the office three days a week instead of the current two starting Sept. 9.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents about 260,000 workers, called the decision “purely political” and launched a series of legal complaints, while encouraging members to file individual grievances.
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Being the employer, however, the federal government has the legal right to determine how work is done, legal experts note.
But Prier criticized the return to work, saying offices are in “way worse condition” than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There’s limited office space, there’s poorly-designed hotel booking systems, you can’t get the same desk every day, you’re not sitting with your team,” he said. “Most of us are just going to the office to sit in virtual meetings.”
He said he’s hopeful OGGO will look into whether the workplace is conducive to work and what costs are being seen by having employees back in office.
As PSAC warned of a “summer of discontent” over the policy earlier this year, Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t budge, saying the right to hybrid work is not enshrined for federal public workers.
In rolling out its plan, the Treasury Board and its secretariat said in a message to deputy ministers the move was to “reflect the benefits that consistent in-person interactions offer.”
“These include more effective collaboration and onboarding of new talent, as well as building a strong culture of performance that is consistent with values and ethics of the public service,” the message read.
Prier criticized that notion on Monday, pointing to data from Statistics Canada and collected by PSAC which showed a 4.5-per cent growth in productivity between 2019 and 2023 in federal government services.
“The government, the employer’s own data on that says that we were more productive in the period of remote work,” he said.
Global News reached out to Anand’s office for comment, but did not hear back by publication.
PSAC pursues judicial review
As CAPE pursues a parliamentary review, PSAC took its fight to the Federal Court, which agreed to hear the concerns.
The union said the hearing will be a “major step” for workers looking for transparency around the decision to return workers to the office.
Global News reached out to OGGO to inquire if the committee would be hearing the request by CAPE, though it did not hear back by deadline.
Prier added the unions are “dividing up the work,” adding the organizations are working together to speak up against the move.
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