OTTAWA, May 8, 2024 – The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) announces it is filing a policy grievance and unfair labour practice complaint in response to the government’s announcement that it would be mandating an increase to the time employees must report to an office.
In 2023, CAPE and other federal bargaining agents signed Letters of Agreement on Telework alongside their respective collective bargaining agreements, which committed the government to working collaboratively with unions on telework rights. Yet the May 1 announcement was made with no prior consultation with federal unions, despite a multitude of existing issues with the current hybrid model, including a lack of available workspaces, and unhygienic and unsafe offices.
“The government operated in complete secrecy, and they have burned a bridge with their workers,” said CAPE President Nathan Prier. “This policy not only violates their previous commitment to their hardworking employees and to unions, but it flies in the face of logic and reality.”
The government stated that, to accommodate employees’ presence and spur collaboration, federal office buildings have moved to hoteling models and open desk plans. However, no evidence was provided to show that both collaboration and productivity were improved, with recent data collected by CAPE in a recent survey reporting the contrary. Public servants in Australia and British Columbia, among other jurisdictions, already have strong telework provisions in their collective agreements, which federal unions are now demanding.
The policy change, which blindsided federal unions, contradicts the government’s own positions on housing. Budget 2024 committed $1.1 billion over 10 years to transform 50 per cent of the federal government’s office portfolio into housing. Yet, forcing employees to spend 60 per cent of their time in an office will make this promise nearly impossible to deliver upon, as employees are already reporting difficulty in securing a desk during their in-office days.
The timing of the announcement coincides with the timing of demands made public from Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa’s business leadership to bring federal employees back to the office to prop up downtown Ottawa businesses. CAPE supports the conversion of federal properties into housing and other socially useful uses alongside expanded telework rights, and remains staunchly opposed to local business coalitions and commercial landlords driving federal workplace policy.
About CAPE
With more than 25,000 members, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees is one of the largest federal public sector unions in Canada, dedicated to advocating on behalf of federal employees in the Economics and Social Science Services (EC) and Translation (TR) groups, as well as employees of the Library of Parliament (LoP), the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (OPBO) and civilian members of the RCMP (ESS and TRL). For more information: acep-cape.ca
For media inquiries:
Katia Thériault
Tel: 819-431-1015
Email: ktheriault@acep-cape.ca
