(Ottawa) A standoff is emerging between the Department of Global Affairs Canada and the union of its employees. Returning to in-person work three days a week is not happening for some civil servants, after two years of doing their jobs from home.
Posted at 8:00 p.m.
The Press obtained an email recently sent by the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (PAFSO) to its members indicating that the Department’s human resources “has adopted as a starting point a standard of three days of on-site work per week for all officials, regardless of the nature of the work involved or the requirements of the service”.
The union says it is concerned that civil servants working abroad and those in the central administration “have already been designated as generally having to spend more time at work on the spot” and by “the absence of measures in health and safety in the event of another pandemic wave”.
The union demands a happy medium
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier gave the green light at the end of February to a return to face-to-face work. It indicated then that federal government departments and agencies could resume their planning to “incrementally increase building occupancy” and transition to a hybrid work model “to the extent that it is appropriate and operationally feasible”. .
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board
“I expect organizations to continue to be nimble and flexible, where necessary, in their planning to adapt to the changing public health environment,” she said at the time. in his written statement.
This return to in-person work was to be “while continuing to adhere to the appropriate use of preventative workplace practices.”
However, Global Affairs Canada would have a more rigid interpretation than other departments. “We wonder if they really did an analysis of the real work or if there are managers who just want to see the workers on site,” said PAFSO President Pamela Isfeld in an interview.
She says she understands that some tasks need to be done in the office or face to face. This is the case, for example, for officials who deal with classified information or diplomatic personnel who must meet their counterparts in person.
Employees will participate in meetings, visits, others will do consular evacuations, it’s impossible to do that from a computer at home. But there is work that can be done on the computer.
Pamela Isfeld, President of the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers
“Do we all need to go to the same place to sit in an office with other people to write a report after a meeting or could there be more flexibility? »
“Different hybrid models” under study
Global Affairs Canada confirms that certain employees will have to return to face-to-face work “full-time, part-time or casual, depending on the operational needs of their branch”. But no instructions have yet been sent to the staff.
“The Ministry does not currently have an official directive mandating a presence in the office three days a week,” spokesperson Jason Kung responded to questions from The Press. The Department recognizes that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for personnel in Canada and abroad. Each team has unique needs and requirements and therefore an approach that reflects those needs. »
Global Affairs Canada intends to test “different hybrid models” before deciding. He required a day’s work in the office during the summer season, but this formula is not more popular than the three days a week of presence, according to the union.
PAFSO would like Treasury Board Secretariat policy to be applied “equitably and consistently across all departments, domestically and internationally.”