Frequently Asked Questions: Telework 

On May 1, Treasury Board issued a unilateral amendment to the Direction on Prescribed Presence in the Workplace, requiring federal public service workers to be in-office three days a week. 

Learn more about what this means for you and how you can join us in fighting for telework that works for workers. 

What will the new three-day mandate mean for members? 

The new Direction forces employees back into offices that are ill-equipped, poorly maintained, and do not have sufficient workspaces. It also undermines the advances in inclusivity, accessibility, and equity that the prior, more flexible approach to telework had promoted. 

I thought we secured telework in our last collective agreement? 

We fought and won a commitment from this government that would protect public service workers from arbitrary government-wide decisions on telework just like this one. 
 
But despite the ongoing consultation process for telework modernization established by the Letter of Agreement on Telework, which PSAC has been actively involved in, Treasury Board implemented the amendment to the Direction without any form of notice to, or consultation with, PSAC. 
 
By making these changes without consultation, the Trudeau Liberal government has reneged on the commitments to collaboration, flexibility, and consultation that were made just one year ago as part of bargaining for the PA, SV, TC, and EB units. The Letter of Agreement on Telework was critical to ending PSAC’s strike and telework was a key issue in bargaining for the FB unit.  

How do members feel about this new mandate? 

PSAC members are incredibly engaged in this issue, and over 65,000 members responded to our survey to share their experiences. 
 
Notably, 83% of respondents strongly oppose the three-day in-office mandate, 82% of respondents are willing to take action, 47% are prepared to give PSAC a strike mandate in the next round of bargaining over the government's approach to telework, and 64% are likely or very likely to file a grievance to challenge the decision. 
 
It’s clear that workers feel betrayed, and PSAC will use every available recourse to fight this mandate and enforce a telework model that works for workers. 

What is the purpose of the joint panels?

Our Letter of Agreement on Telework commits the government to create joint panels in each federal department to provide recommendations to address any dissatisfaction with an employer decision following a telework request. 
 
The panels are meant to address telework complaints in each department — to look at them for each worker based on their unique situation. Despite Treasury Board dragging their feet, some progress has been made in the creation of these panels and many of them should be operational soon.

How does this impact FB members?

PSAC filed an unfair labour practice complaint on behalf of the FB group on May 1, 2024 while strike votes were underway. Changes to the terms and conditions of work while bargaining is ongoing directly undermines the collective bargaining rights of over 9,000 PSAC members in the FB group. The FB group has since ratified their agreement.

What is PSAC doing to fightback?

Given the profound impact this decision has on workers, PSAC has taken immediate legal action to oppose the amendment of the Direction and its implementation on our members. 

• Unfair labour practice complaints: PSAC filed two complaints with the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board on behalf of the FB and the PA, SV, TC, and EB bargaining units. These complaints accuse the employer of bad faith bargaining and interfering with union representation, highlighting the disregard for the previously agreed Letter of Agreement on Telework. 
• Policy grievance: This grievance challenges the arbitrary application of management rights and the discriminatory impact of the amendments, which now disadvantage members of human rights-protected groups. 
• Guidance on filing individual grievances: PSAC encourages affected members to file grievances related to increased in-office days, ignored or altered telework agreements, and discriminatory impacts based on protected human rights grounds. 

What can I do if my telework agreement was altered because of the new mandate?

If a member has an existing telework agreement that has been disregarded or altered because of the amendment of the Direction, this should be explicitly identified and grieved.  
 
For some employees, disregarding or altering an existing telework agreement may give rise to a viable detrimental reliance argument, where employees have made arrangements based on their prior agreement and now are unable to change those arrangements or can only do so at personal cost. 
 
While grievances should be individualized to reflect the specific circumstances and concerns of individual members, you may adapt and customize the template grievance language provided below. 

How does this impact employees with disabilities or caregiving responsibilities?

The amendments potentially discriminate against individuals with disabilities and those with caregiving responsibilities by reducing workplace flexibility and accessibility, violating both the Canadian Human Rights Act and collective agreement protections. 
 
An individual grievance should be filed if a member experiences additional adverse impacts because of their membership in a human rights-protected group. The grievance should allege that the employer amended and implemented the Direction in a manner that has caused adverse impacts on grounds protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act and the anti-discrimination article of the collective agreement, including but not limited to disability, family status, age, sex, gender identity and expression, religion, race, and national or ethnic origin. 
 
While grievances should be individualized to reflect the specific circumstances and concerns of individual members, you may adapt and customize the template grievance language provided below. 

Under what circumstances can I file an individual grievance?

As part of our coordinated legal response, we are encouraging all affected members to put in grievances against the unilateral amendment of the Direction. Grievances should be filed for the following issues: 

• Where the amended Direction results in a member being arbitrarily required to work more days in the office; 
• Where a member has had an existing telework agreement disregarded or altered because of the Direction; 
• Where a member experiences additional adverse impacts because of their membership in a human rights-protected group; 
• Or, where a member has experienced losses or out-of-pocket costs because of the Direction.

How will these grievances make a difference?

The point of these grievances is to hold the employer accountable for arbitrarily amending the Direction and ignoring the principles for flexible working arrangements, as required by the management rights provision in the collective agreement and the Letter of Agreement on Telework.

Is there specific wording I can use for my individual grievance?

While grievances should be individualized to reflect the specific circumstances and concerns of individual members, the following template grievance language can be customized to address most cases:

This is an individual grievance hereby filed pursuant to Section 208 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act.

Details of the grievance:

I grieve the Employer’s conduct in amending the Direction on Prescribed Presence in the Workplace (the “Direction”) in violation of the collective agreement by:

• Amending and implementing the Direction in a manner which is unreasonable, arbitrary, and inconsistent with the principles for flexible working arrangements, in violation of the provisions of the applicable Collective Agreement, including but not limited to Article 6 of Collective Agreement, the Letter of Agreement on Telework, the Directive on Telework, as well as any other applicable provisions of the Collective Agreement, employer policies, or legislation;
   
• Amending and implementing the Direction in a discriminatory manner that has breached the employer’s duty to accommodate and has reduced accessibility, inclusiveness and equity in violation of my rights  protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act (“CHRA”) and [Article 19 of the Program and Administrative Services (PA), Operational Services (SV), Technical Services (TC), and Border Services (FB) agreements or Article 16 of the Education and Library Science (EB) agreement]; and
   
• Amending and implementing the Direction in a manner which in a manner which unreasonably and inappropriately departs from my existing telework/remote work arrangements and has caused me prejudice and hardship.

What else can I do to fight back?

Join us in the fight for telework that works for workers:  

• Email your MP and Treasury Board President Anita Anand to demand fair telework for all;
• File an individual grievance against the unilateral amendment of the Direction;
• Be sure to keep your contact information up to date to receive all the latest updates.

What if I have more questions?

For any additional questions or concerns, please contact your local executive or shop steward, your component, or PSAC regional office.