Public service unions say they are concerned about rumours of a looming full-time return-to-office mandate for federal public servants, though the federal minister responsible said he is not aware of any such plans. Read MoreTreasury Board president says he’s not aware of a plan to send public servants back to office full-time
Treasury Board president says he’s not aware of a plan to send public servants back to office full-time
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Public service unions say they are concerned about rumours of a looming full-time return-to-office mandate for federal public servants, though the federal minister responsible said he is not aware of any such plans.
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In a Friday letter to Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) wrote seeking clarification on “persistent rumours” that the government may soon bring workers back to the office up to five days per week.
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In a follow-up interview Monday, CAPE president Nathan Prier said he’s been hearing “a lot of whispers” from within the Treasury Board but added he has received no official confirmation or any specifics around timing.
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“In times of belt-tightening and efficiency, what we’re talking about is just throwing billions of dollars down a black hole to make workers less productive,” he said.
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Prier said the union has pulled out of consultations with the government on the issue, viewing the practice as an “exercise in futility.”
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He said CAPE received just 24-hours’ notice when the government previously announced it would be moving to three days per week in office.
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“The case for flexible arrangements that include telework has been made time and time again, and it is overwhelmingly clear that reversing this progress would be a step backward for productivity, morale, and talent attraction and retention,” the letter read.
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Sharon DeSousa, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said she’s seen what appeared to be a leaked PowerPoint slide circulating on the internet that claims to outline the Treasury Board’s return-to-office plan, but has received no official confirmation from the government about the authenticity of the slide.
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Mohammad Kamal, a spokesperson for Ali, did not respond directly to a request from the Ottawa Citizen seeking confirmation of the rumours. Rather, Kamal thanked public servants for their dedication and reiterated the government’s current directive on remote work.
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“The directive on prescribed presence in the workplace, which sets a minimum presence requirement for the federal public service (3 days for eligible employees and 4 days for executives), has not changed,” Kamal said in an email.