Who sets remote work rules? That's a key issue in the PSAC strike

The president of the Treasury Board, the federal department negotiating with striking Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) workers, made her case Monday for why remote work rules are best made by department managers rather than laid out in a new contract.

Many sectors predominantly worked virtually during the first COVID-19 shutdown more than three years ago and the federal government once suggested that arrangement could become permanent for some workers.

As the pandemic evolved — and contracts with now-striking PSAC groups expired — the approach to where people should work swung to the other end of the pendulum.

Through stops, starts and studies, the government announced in December 2022 its workers generally had to return to the office two to three days a week in the first months of 2023.

Union leaders, including those with PSAC, pushed back before and after that announcement. PSAC said its members are just as effective working remotely as they are in the office, and protecting remote work in a new deal is a main reason why it's striking.

"We want to make sure everyone knows what the game rules are and that our members have recourse if this is not being applied fairly and consistently," PSAC national president Chris Aylward told CBC Sunday.

He mentioned the 2022 federal budget saying remote work could save billions of dollars a year if it meant the government could sell off some buildings.

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier told CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Monday she believes rules should be set at the managerial level within each department as they continue to evaluate how to best deliver services.

Host Hallie Cotnam asked Fortier about why this should not be part of a collective agreement.

"It's operations, it's … the fact it [could be the subject of a grievance], for example. I think this management right needs to be sustained as a management right and I truly believe remote work or telework is something that will continue to transform," she said.

"We were in a situation during COVID where we needed to work, by necessity, from home and then we started doing hybrid [work] by design and have been moving."

WATCH | Mona Fortier on the remote work stance:

The national strike for more than 155,000 federal public servants under PSAC began on April 19 at 12:01 a.m. and has entered its second workweek.

Two groups covered by the union remain on strike: one includes approximately 120,000 employees who fall under the Treasury Board, making up several government departments and agencies, and the other is a smaller tax group of more than 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).