Federal government union to file complaint over ‘flawed’ hybrid work plan | 24CA News

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) says it can file a criticism with a the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board over the authorities’s hybrid return-to-the-workplace plan introduced final week.

Starting March 31, federal public servants can be required to work at the very least two to 3 days per week, or between 40 and 60 per cent of their common schedule, in individual. Many staff have been working from dwelling because the COVID-19 pandemic struck almost three years in the past.

“In-person work better supports collaboration, team spirit, innovation and a culture of belonging,” Mona Fortier, president of the Treasury Board, mentioned Dec. 15.

“We’ve now seen that there needs to be greater fairness and equity across our workplaces and we need consistency in how hybrid work is applied across the federal government.”

But in a press release launched Wednesday, PSAC, which represents almost 230,000 staff in each province and territory, mentioned it is the federal government’s coverage that’s unfair. 

“The federal government’s blanket hybrid work plan tramples on workers’ collective bargaining rights and forces a flawed one-size-fits-all approach on a diverse and evolving public service,” the union mentioned.

Labour talks ongoing

PSAC mentioned it can file a “statutory freeze complaint” towards the Treasury Board and different businesses for “unilaterally imposing changes to our members’ working conditions” whereas the union is engaged in labour negotiations on behalf of 165,000 federal public servants.

“Making changes to working conditions while those very same issues are at the bargaining table is against the law,” PSAC mentioned.

The union mentioned it is also offering pointers to assist its members file their very own grievances as soon as the coverage is made official on Jan. 16. 

According to PSAC, greater than 80 per cent of its members who had been surveyed oppose the federal government’s hybrid work plan and are ready to take motion, together with strike motion, “to fight for better work-life balance, fair wages, protections against harassment and discrimination in the workplace and other top bargaining priorities.”

Last week, Fortier mentioned varied departments have experimented with completely different hybrid fashions to reach at a workable return-to-the-office plan.

“I understand that there were conversations and feedback shared,” she mentioned. “We informed the unions about this new decision from the management, that location of work is a right of the employer.” 

A PSAC spokesperson advised CBC the union plans to file the criticism by the top of the week.

The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board is an unbiased, quasi-judicial tribunal chargeable for administering the collective bargaining and grievance adjudication programs within the federal public service and in Parliament.