Federal government says there may not be enough workstations for all workers' 4-day-a-week return

The federal government says there may not be enough room in some offices for all workers as the public service prepares to return to the office four days a week starting July 6.

Civil servants currently only have to come into the office three days a week — a rule that was put in place in September 2024 as government employees were for the most part working remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this month, the federal government announced it expects employees who haven't done so already to return to in-office work for a minimum of four days a week starting this July. Government executives will be expected in the office five days.

In a French-language statement emailed this week to Radio-Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada said that Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) will work closely with organizations to ensure "adequate office space" is available for staff.

PSPC will contact the organizations to address their needs "while recognizing that there may not be enough workstations at some locations to meet the four-day work week requirement for all staff starting July 6," Martin Potvin, a spokesperson with the Treasury Board stated in the email.

For unions representing federal workers, the Treasury Board's update only confirms what they already knew.

"We have been clear from the start: there simply isn’t enough office space or available workstations to support a four-day in-office mandate," the Public Service Alliance of Canada said in an emailed statement, adding that under the current three-day policy, shared desks are already fully booked in many departments.

Sean O'Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said that many departments were not able to implement the three-day-a-week mandate "because there's a lack of space across the public service."

The government held three consultation sessions with unions this week. Discussions focused on the implementation of a timeline for the four-day plan, workspaces, health and safety, accommodations, and exemptions.

O'Reilly said the government restated at the first meeting that it intends to move ahead in July, "but they [also] maintained it's not a final decision."

"If this isn't a final decision and July 6th is not the date, let's take that off the table and actually have real meaningful discussions to see what [a phased approach] looks like," O'Reilly said.

Radio-Canada asked the Treasury Board if it's possible the government might reconsider the July 6 timeline, or be flexible about it.

"We will continue our mobilization sessions with the bargaining agents regarding the government's intention to increase the on-site presence of employees in order to ensure proper implementation," Potvin wrote back in French.