‘Chained to a desk’: Dozens of OPS workers rally against Ford’s five-day office order

Ontario Public Service Union and supporters protested at Queen’s Park to bring back hybrid work scheduling, as the return-to-office mandate was implemented.

On a Friday morning cold enough to empty sidewalks, dozens of Ontario public servants gathered outside the labour board to protest against the province’s five-day return-to-office order.

The protest coincided with a mediation hearing where the union representing Ontario Public Service (OPS) workers is arguing “Ford’s heavy-handed decision” violates labour law, comes without consultation, and is being imposed despite widespread office-space shortages.

“This is based on Ford’s return-to-office mandate that was done without any consultation or any evidence that it’s going to help Ontarians or these workers,” said OPSEU/SEFPO president JP Hornick.

Hornick says the policy ignores years of proof that remote and hybrid work models function effectively.

“They’re acting like they (workers) haven’t been working five days a week for years... the hybrid (model) works. There is no need for this new mandate to force people back into offices that in some cases don’t even exist.”

Hornick said more than 10,000 alternative work accommodation requests have already been filed as a direct result of the mandate.

“What we need is for this Ontario Labor Relations Board to hear these workers, to hear that hybrid work is working, and to make sure that this mandate is reversed,” Hornick said.

A response from the province

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, the province for its part said their mandate is “aligned” with other organizations across the country.

“We’ve welcomed employees back full time in the workplace five days per week,” said Andrea Chiappetta, a spokesperson for the president of the Treasury Board. “Returning to the standard that was in place prior to the pandemic.”

“This standard is aligned with other provinces, cities, and organizations across Canada and reinforces our commitment to ensuring the OPS reflects the people and businesses we serve in Ontario.”

‘Office space was sold off’

Several workers at the rally said the government is ordering people back into offices that no longer have the capacity to hold them.

“In some cases, the office space was sold off, and now they’re trying to find spaces to lease again,” Hornick said. “You have folks who are supposedly hoteling so there’s not enough desks. In some cases, the space is in disrepair and nonexistent. We have rodent infestations… we even had the LCBO say they couldn’t meet this mandate because they didn’t have enough space.”

Coleen Houlder, an executive board member for OPSEU/SEFPO’s Region 5, said her own workplace is already operating beyond capacity.

“I think my office will probably be in the underground garage, because simply, they have removed all of our desks,” she said. “We’re hoteling. Our lawyers are sharing offices. You have to book space, and quite frankly, there is no room.”

Houlder said the situation is about to get worse.

“The Attorney General’s Office, which is where I work — the lease expired in December, so we’re even going to have less space to work,” she said. “I can’t figure out what the hell they’re trying to do, other than making sure that we come into that office.”

‘None of this makes any sense’

The rally comes just days after CTV News Toronto reported that some Ministry of Transportation employees were told they still had to report to work or take a vacation day during a major winter storm that dumped up to 40 centimetres of snow across parts of the GTA.

• READ MORE: Ontario public servants told to report to office during major snowstorm

Hornick said the incident underscores how rigid and disconnected the mandate has become.

“We saw what happened during the major winter storm that just happened last week in Toronto, where they were telling workers to come back to work, nonetheless, into the office... Nonetheless, when everybody else was able to stay home, none of this makes any sense.”

Hornick said the policy is not about productivity.

“It doesn’t benefit the workers, but it sure as hell benefits the corporate buddies who are getting their real estate filled again,” Hornick noted.

“You don’t have to be chained to a desk in order to get the job done.”