A person sitting at a desk with a baby in their arms.
Remote work is the future of work. Credit: Canva Credit: Canva

The Public Service Alliance of Canada will have a chance to make their full case for telework at the Federal Court. 

The court announced it would have a full hearing on the remote work issue in the public service despite the government’s attempt to have the case thrown out or delayed. The date of the hearing is not yet confirmed. 

In May, the federal government announced a three-day in-office work week mandate for federal public service workers to be implemented by Sept. 9. Unions were quick to voice their outrage, saying telework arrangements should be made through a case-by-case framework. 

PSAC national president Sharon DeSousa said the court’s decision to have a full hearing is an important win for public service workers. 

“Remote work is the future of work, and we won’t let the government off the hook for breaking their commitments and ignoring the voices of federal public service workers,” DeSousa said. 

READ MORE: This Labour Day, don’t be fooled by fair-weather friends of labour 

Telework an important option to work in Canada 

The government of Canada website says the decision to implement a hybrid work model was to ensure the experience of working in the public service or receiving services from it is the same across the government and the country.

However public service unions, including PSAC, said a one-size-fits-all approach means the government will fall short of fulfilling its responsibilities to accommodate all workers. 

Unions have raised concerns  about mental health, work-life balance and the environmental impacts of adding more commuters to the roads. 

Jennifer Carr, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said in a telework town hall on Wednesday that a one-size-fits-all approach could also create work barriers to disabled workers. 

Telework during the pandemic was a great equalizer for disabled and neurodiverse people, Carr said. She said many people realized that they were not “poor performers,” they simply had specific requirements to focus at work. 

“To go back to a model where we have people who are disabled or have issues in an ableist space just because they want us in a seat is not meeting the spirit of the legislation [Duty to accommodate].” Carr said. 

Making telework a priority 

The government of Canada does have a duty to accommodate under the hybrid work mandate. This means an employee facing a barrier can request accommodation from their manager. Requests for accommodation must be assessed by each department on a case-by-case basis. 

However, Carr said accommodations should be more systematized. She said the Treasury Board is not pushing the exemptions that people are entitled to. 

“They are kind of leaving you to sort that thing out yourself,” Carr said on Wednesday.

If telework exemptions were included in collective agreements, Carr said the union would have more power to push back when these exemptions are not provided. 

“They make policies so that when they are not applied fairly, there is nothing you can do,” Carr said. “It is at your manager’s discretion.” 

Four public service unions, including PSAC and The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said on Wednesday that they plan to make telework a priority organizing issue in the fall. The upcoming Federal Court hearing is only one piece of the struggle. 

Unions are currently collecting signatures for a petition demanding the repeal of the three-days in-office mandate. As well, unions are asking workers to file grievances on this issue. DeSousa said even if these grievances are not won, documenting these cases can provide helpful data to unions. 

Gabriela Calugay-Casuga

Gabriela “Gabby” Calugay-Casuga (she/they) is a writer and activist based in so-called “Ottawa.” They began writing for Migrante Ottawa’s radio show, Talakayang Bayan, in 2017. Since then, she...