It’s a new year and a new reality for tens of thousands of provincial government employees. After years of hybrid work, Ontario public service workers are now required to be in the office five days a week. On Monday, some CUPE members at Ontario Health atHome in Ottawa joined others across the province for a day of action against the mandate. Demonstrators say they’ve been able to deliver essential home-care services remotely for years and there’s no reason to abandon the hybrid work model. “Our employer has gotten rid of a lot of real estate and so it’s going to take a lot, millions of dollars, to accommodate us all into the office,” said Brett Geneau, a CUPE representative. “It’s causing chaos and it’s just the morale with people and this money could be spent a lot more into our public healthcare system.” Roughly half of Ontario’s 60,000 public service employees have been working in the office four days a week since October. The Ontario government says the move is in line with the current workforce landscape across the province and specific accommodations can be made if necessary.
