This morning, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, Quebec Region (PSAC-Quebec) is denouncing the decision to require federal public service workers to work in the office four days per week. This directive from the Treasury Board and federal agencies comes into effect today.
Here’s what Sébastien Paquette, Executive Vice-President for PSAC-Quebec, had to say:
- We stand in solidarity with our members mandated into the office today.
- The Treasury Board and federal agencies—that is, the employers—have decided to appease chambers of commerce instead of coming to the table and bargaining on this important working condition for thousands of members.
- Employers have imposed restrictions on telework while disregarding its benefits for everyone, including less traffic in cities, better work-life balance without affecting the quality of public services, and enormous financial savings on office rent to the tune of several billion dollars.
- In the coming weeks, the employers will realize that there isn’t enough space to accommodate everyone in the workplace, and they will have no choice but to back down from this hasty decision. For example, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada sent a memo to employees in May stating that it would postpone the mandate until it had located more office space.
- Additionally, concerns have been raised that shared workspaces may not comply with ergonomic standards and could result in occupational health and safety issues.
Last February, PSAC-Quebec sent out an internal survey about telework. More than 5,000 members responded, overwhelmingly raising concerns about their workspace and ergonomics.
It should be noted that the employers are currently in bargaining with units represented by PSAC. By imposing the in-office mandate, the employers changed employees’ working conditions without PSAC’s consent, which flies in the face of the right to collective bargaining. PSAC has filed a complaint in this matter, since the employer cannot change working conditions at will during collective bargaining, regardless of whether those conditions are included in the collective agreement.
PSAC-Quebec encourages members and the general public to sign the House of Commons petition on the right to telework by July 15.