(Montreal) Some 91% of federal public servants who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada “firmly oppose” the directive to return to work in the office three days a week.
The large pan-Canadian union of federal public servants surveyed its members to find out what they thought of the Treasury Board directive imposing three days of work in the office starting at the beginning of September.
Some 65,000 members responded to the survey, the PSAC reported in a message to its members. And 91% “strongly oppose the new directive” on telework.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand had argued that the situation would change little, in practice, since we would then go “from two to three days a week in the office” to three days a week in the office. And managers would have to work four days a week in the office, she had stressed.
But since then, federal civil servant unions have been campaigning against this return to the office three days a week.
The PSAC argues that during the last collective agreement negotiations, it had included a letter of understanding in which the federal government committed to collaborating with the unions on the issue of telework.
The Alliance is using this letter of understanding to file grievances against the Treasury Board and has already invited its members to file individual grievances.
Moreover, the same consultation of its members reveals that “64% of people responded that they would perhaps or very probably file a grievance,” reports the Alliance.
And while the President of the Treasury Board said that public servants were already working two to three days a week in the office, the PSAC survey found that “less than half of those surveyed are required to go to the office two days a week” at present.
Public servants surveyed report several impacts on their lives with this return to the office three days a week, including increased expenses for parking, childcare, lunch (91%), time to travel to the office (90%), and work-life balance (89%).
Other repercussions are also raised regarding the environment – due to the increased use of transport – at 84%, regarding mental health, at 83%, regarding family obligations, at 73%.
“In the coming weeks, we will continue to put pressure on the government. Our message is clear: we are not touching the rights duly negotiated by civil servants,” the PSAC also stated in its message to its members.
The PSAC has some 250,000 members across the country. In Quebec, it is affiliated with the FTQ.