Ontario public-sector employees protest a return-to-office mandate at Queen's Park in Toronto, Sept. 18.Duane Cole/The Globe and Mail
Hundreds of public-sector employees took to the grounds of Queen’s Park in Toronto late last month to express their displeasure with Premier Doug Ford and his provincial government.
“Why are we going back to the Stone Age?” one civil-service union representative said into a megaphone, as the crowd waved flags and chanted in protest.
“Our members are angry, and we’re here today to tell the government, our employer, that this was unfair,” another union rep told CTV News. A pile of bankers boxes sat on display, representing thousands of petition signatures from civil servants rejecting a new directive from Mr. Ford.
The issue? A return-to-office mandate that will require Ontario’s public-service workers to be in the office five days a week, instead of the current three. The move by the Ford government will affect more than 60,000 civil servants, though according to the province more than half already have to be in the office full-time.
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Mr. Ford has cited a number of reasons for calling these workers back to the office, including fostering a better workplace culture that promotes face-to-face interaction, boosting productivity, and fostering greater mentorship. He’s also hoping to set an example for other organizations in bringing foot traffic and vitality back to businesses across the province after the COVID-19 lockdowns.
The cities of Brampton and Ottawa have made similar decisions. Several major Canadian banks now require employees to attend the workplace four days a week. Mr. Ford’s new in-office requirement is, essentially, a business decision, and well within the purview of the government as an employer.
The unions’ major concerns over returning to the office include the needs of many members to have flexible work arrangements, a lack of available desk space, and expenses related to commuting and/or living in populated urban areas. The AMAPCEO union of professional employees in Ontario says its members could be short 3,000 seats if all were expected to be in the office full time. This is among the easier problems to solve – the government says it is currently reviewing capacity issues and that many of its work spaces have been underutilized since the onset of COVID.
As for the need for flexibility, back-to-office mandates should not, of course, be mindless, blanket policies. There are many legitimate reasons to ask for flexible or hybrid work arrangements, including a wide spectrum of personal needs and family caretaking responsibilities. The hybrid work models introduced as Canada made its way out of the COVID shutdowns demonstrated to many parents that increased flexibility was immeasurably helpful in raising children.
To that end, according to its president, 5,000 of the 17,000 members of AMAPCEO have already been granted alternative work arrangements. Another 4,500 members have applied for hybrid or remote-work exemptions in the past few weeks, with the deadline to apply set for October.
Thousands of civil servants – educators, health care workers and police officers – have no choice but to work from their offices.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Clearly, there is a large amount of flexibility already available to public-service workers. If greater remote-work flexibility is strongly desired by members, the unions can take it up with the government in the usual way – collective bargaining. But that will mean balancing remote work against other hoped-for gains, rather than demanding a unilateral concession from the employer.
As it stands, protections for flexible work arrangements still remain in place for those with personal or health exemptions, as guaranteed by occupational safety legislation. It is far from unreasonable for Ontario to request that workers who fall outside of those exemptions be present at the office.
The concerns expressed by the unions over the cost of commuting fall particularly flat when one considers the other public-sector employees Ontario’s civil servants work to support. There are hundreds of thousands of educators, health care workers, police officers, firefighters and other professionals – all ultimately answerable to provincial ministries – who have no choice but to work on-site every day. Not to mention the millions of Ontario taxpayers who also have to contend with the daily commute.
In protesting against office mandates, the public-service keyboard class reads as more than a little out of touch with their fellow workers. In the end, this is a business decision made by their employer, and they will have to follow suit.
It’s time for Ontario’s public service to put down the picket signs – and to pack a lunch.