Federal back-to-office mandate begins Monday

OTTAWA - The federal government says repercussions for public servants who refuse to return to in-person work will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Starting Monday, all federal employees who are still working from home will begin the transition back to in-person work.

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier announced last month that all departments must bring workers back to the office at least two to three times a week by the end of March.

In an interview Thursday, she did not specify what the consequences may be for anyone who refuses to return.

"Those that do not comply by the end of March, management will (decide) if they face disciplinary measures or not, but each situation will be assessed case-by-case," said Fortier.

Fortier said the return-to-office plan is needed because of "inconsistencies" in remote work policies across federal departments. She would not clarify what those inconsistencies were in an interview with The Canadian Press and did not say whether the federal government has data to illustrate those inconsistencies. Instead, she said fairness and equity are the principles guiding the hybrid work model.

Chris Aylward, national president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, said people are willing to return to the office if they receive a clear answer as to why it is necessary.

"Our members are completely confused," said Aylward, whose union represents 165,000 federal public servants.

He said he regularly hears from members about their struggles to secure childcare and their reluctance to spend hours of their day commuting if they are able to work productively from home.

"The government (needs) to stop this right now and to come to the bargaining table so that we can negotiate this, get it into the collective agreement, so that our members' rights are protected," said Aylward.

The union is in active negotiations with the Treasury Board, and PSAC believes any rules about hybrid work should be hashed out at the bargaining table. Those talks are not progressing well, however, with both parties filing separate labour complaints against the other.