Majority of PSAC members oppose new 3-day a week office mandate, union survey shows

File photo of a federal government building in Ottawa. (CTV News Ottawa)

A majority of federal workers are opposed to the federal government's new three days a week return to office policy, according to a new poll.

The Public Service of Canada says 91 per cent of the more than 65,000 union members who responded to the survey said they are "strongly opposed" to the return to office mandate, and 75 per cent of respondents are willing to take action to fight the new mandate.

The Treasury Board Secretariat announced a new hybrid work policy for the federal public service on May 1, requiring all public servants in the core public administration to work on-site a minimum of three days a week starting Sept. 9. All federal executives are expected to be on site a minimum of four days per week.

"PSAC members overwhelmingly oppose the government’s misguided telework mandate," the union said in a statement this week. "They are rightfully angry that their employer is making unilateral changes to their work environments without justifying the decision with data."

PSAC says 64 per cent of respondents are likely or very likely to file a grievance over the new hybrid policy.

According to the union survey, 91 per cent of respondents said expenses could be made worse by going to the office three days a week, while 90 per cent of workers raised concerns about commute times and transportation and 89 per cent were concerned about work-life balance.

PSAC says the survey also found 83 per cent respondents raised concerns about mental health related to the new hybrid mandate, while 80 per cent raised concerns about job satisfaction.

"Physically coming to the office is ridiculous when 100 per cent of my job is done via email and virtual meetings. I have no colleagues in the office I report to, it’s just a desk," said one comment from a worker shared by PSAC.

"Public service workers are facing the same economic challenges as the rest of Canada. Paying more for parking fees, gas and childcare will put us even closer to the poverty line," said another respondent.

The union says a survey conducted by Abacus Data in May found 69 per cent of Canadians are in favour of employees having the flexibility of working from home full-time or part-time.

Tens of thousands of federal workers began working from home at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2023, the government implemented the current hybrid work policy requiring federal public servants to work in the office two or three days a week.

Federal unions have vowed to fight the new three-day a week office mandate for federal public servants.  The unions said in May they have filed a policy grievance challenging the new return-to-office mandate and a labour complaint against the Treasury Board to the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board.