Poll finds almost 60% support Ottawa’s new work mandate that has federal unions up in arms
The union representing federal workers has vowed a “summer of discontent” over a new mandate to keep them in the office three days a week, but they might not find much support among the Canadians they serve.
The Treasury Board Secretariat announced this month that public servants in the core public administration will be required to spend at least three days in the office starting in September. Executives will be required to spend at least four days.
The union has said it would launch legal challenges and encouraged public sector workers to file “tens of thousands” of grievances over the new mandate.
“The Trudeau Liberal government better prepare itself for a summer of discontent,” Chris Aylward, president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said during a press conference after the May 1 announcement.
Yet an Angus Reid Institute poll has found that almost 60 per cent of Canadians support federal workers spending more time in the office and less working remotely.
Support was highest among retired people, with 79 per cent in favour of the new mandate and only 15 per cent opposing it. More time in the office was supported by 54 per cent of employed people and 52 per cent of union members. Support was lower among public sector workers, but still 47 per cent were for it.
Worker discontent over the issue could directly impact Canadians this summer.
PSAC has identified the hybrid work policy as a “critical issue” in negotiations between the government and 9,000 workers with Canada Border Services, which could potentially strike this summer.
When asked how the federal government should respond if there was labour action at the border, half of Canadians said Ottawa should still go ahead with the work policy, but a third said they would prefer the government to back down.
Even respondents who work in public sector unions were not in agreement. Forty-five per cent said the government should scrap the policy, but 36 per cent said Ottawa should hold firm.
The poll revealed a wide-spread belief that federal government workers enjoy much better working conditions than those in the private sector.
Three-quarters of those polled thought federal workers were better off, a belief that is spread almost equally among supporters of all the major political parties. Eighty-six per cent of Conservative voters believe this, 73 per cent of Liberals, 70 per cent of NDP and 70 per cent of Bloc Quebecois.
Even before the new work mandate was announced, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was calling on the federal government to get workers back in the office to help Ottawa businesses that have suffered since the pandemic.
That’s a big deal in the capital region because the government is the biggest employer, not only in Ottawa, but also in Gatineau and nearby communities, said the report.
Angus Reid did a separate sample of just Ottawa residents and found, perhaps not surprisingly, that opposition here to the new work policy was higher than any where else in the country. Most people, 57 per cent, said they opposed it while 33 per cent were in favour.
Some public servants in the survey pushed back against Ford’s idea that they return to the office to help Ottawa businesses out, with one saying workers were “being used as a walking wallet to start propping up downtown Ottawa.”
Those living closest to the core of Ottawa were more likely to say the workers should not be forced back to the office to stimulate economic activity downtown. More than half said it was not up to government workers, while 28 per cent agreed.