Shared co-working sites currently used by 15,000 public servants in 53 departments
The Canadian government announced in February that executives in the public service are required to work on-site five days a week beginning May 4, with all other unionized employees expected to follow at four days a week as of July 6.
The Treasury Board directive applies to core departments and agencies, though separate bodies such as the Canada Revenue Agency and the National Research Council have indicated they intend to adopt the same approach.
However, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) recently said it is considering “reallocating” shared co-working sites, currently used by 15,000 public servants in 53 departments, to agencies that lack sufficient room, says the CBC.
In total, there are 12 co-working sites across the country, representing 337 workstations. Six of these are located in the National Capital Region while the others are in Toronto, Vancouver, Charlottetown, Laval, Que., Moncton, N.B., and Dartmouth, N.S.
“As part of the transition back to a four-day-a-week office schedule, various options are currently being considered, one of which is to reallocate these spaces to federal agencies to meet their needs,” a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) stated in a French-language email to Radio-Canada.
‘There aren’t enough spaces’
A shortage of office space has forced Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to delay its four-days-in-the office mandate, according to a recent report.
Alex Silas, national executive vice-president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), said the occupancy figures speak for themselves.
“This proves our point that there aren’t enough spaces to force a return to the office,” Silas told the CBC.
Sean O’Reilly, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), said the co-working reallocation plan offers little comfort.
“Reserving co-working spaces for some federal employees while excluding others is still a bad solution,” he told the CBC. “It won’t be sustainable or sufficient.”
Return to the office
In August, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced that the province’s roughly 60,000 public servants would be required to work in-office four days a week that fall, then full-time as of Jan. 5.
Alberta similarly ended its hybrid work model for government employees, effective February.
In the private sector, major banks, including BMO, Scotiabank, and RBC also moved to four-day in-office requirements, while Amazon required its corporate staff back on-site five days a week as of Jan. 2.
