Premier wants municipal employees in office 5 days a week; 85% of City of Ottawa employees onsite every day

The sign outside City Hall in Ottawa (CTV News Ottawa)

Over 85 per cent of City of Ottawa employees are in the workplace every day as Premier Doug Ford urges municipalities to bring their workers back to the office five days a week.

Last week, the Ontario government announced all members of the Ontario Public Service will be required to be in the office four days a week starting in November and full time in January.

During his speech to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa on Monday, Ford said Ontario’s return-to-office mandate reflects what’s happening in businesses.

Ford noted Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is bringing all employees back to the office full-time in January and encouraged “other municipalities to follow his lead.”

“It will help bring the public service and the municipalities closer to the people they serve and will revitalize our workplaces in downtowns across Ontario,” Ford said.

The City of Ottawa’s Chief Human Resources Officer Pamela LeMaistre says over 85 per cent of the city’s employees are onsite in the workplace every day.

“The City’s top priority is delivering efficient, responsive service to residents; our employees have continued to do just that through a time of significant change,” LeMaistre said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

“We regularly review our hybrid work approach against industry best practices and comparable public-sector employers to ensure our workforce policies continue to evolve and align with any changes to broader standards.”

Last October, the city said its hybrid employees were required to be in the office a minimum of two days per week.

The City of Ottawa employees approximately 17,000 people, which includes Ottawa Fire Services and Ottawa Paramedic Services, and staff with Solid Waste Services, Road Services and Public Works.

Federal employees in the core public service are required to be in the office a minimum of three days a week.

Mixed opinions on hybrid work

The hybrid work model is a hot topic in the nation’s capital, with residents expressing a wide range of opinions.

“We proved during COVID we could do this. We made the ship sail. I think we made the ship better and I think that it’s just a waste of time,” said Jason Hamer.

“Spending time on the buses, stuck in traffic, it’s no good for anyone.”

Others feel public servants at all levels of government should have to come into work more often.

“I think they should come back. I think they should pay for gas, I think they should pay for parking, I think they should work like the rest of us,” said Chloe Garant.

“I don’t see any reason why they can’t. I guess it depends on if they got hired that way, that makes sense, but I just think they need to come back. The city needs them to come back.”

The premier isn’t the only one in favour of a return to in-person work.

Several private sector businesses, including banks like TD, Scotiabank and RBC have mandated a four-day in-office work week, which begins in September.

It’s a trend the Ottawa Board of Trade is noticing as well.

“We’ve always known that the government making these decisions was sort of a lead indicator. We have seen also, private industry making those moves,” said Sueling Ching, president & CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade.

“In speaking with some of those businesses, they’ve done it because they see an opportunity to increase productivity, to increase creativity, to mentor young people, so the reasons are varied.”

Ching says there doesn’t appear to be a sweeping move away from hybrid work across all sectors.

“As the voice of business, we know that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Many businesses have hybrid working that is working for them quite well,” said Ching

“What we are looking for from governments and large employers is for them to create more certainty in our communities so that we, as community planners, investors and entrepreneurs can plan better when we know which days and when workers are going to be at their office.”

Ching adds a move towards seeing more workers in the office is positive for businesses in and around Ottawa’s downtown core.

“There’s no question that if we saw a trend towards more days in-office, that would increase foot traffic and that would be valuable to our employers and our entrepreneurs,’ she said.

“Having said that, that’s not what we’re relying on to diversify our economy in the downtown core. We need to focus on the plans that we’ve laid out to make it more diverse.”

CTV News reached out to CUPE 503, the union that represents City of Ottawa staff, but they declined an interview.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Austin Lee