Union criticizes pilot program: 'Employees don’t need to be tracked, surveilled, and monitored'
The federal government has introduced a new tracking system to monitor whether public servants are complying with the three-day in-office mandate.
The system, which began on Oct. 1 at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), uses IP address information to record when employees log on at the office, counting each instance as a day of on-site work, according to CTV News.
The initiative is currently in a pilot phase and will run until November, with official monitoring set to begin in January. According to the report, starting in April, managers will receive the names of employees who are not meeting on-site attendance requirements, and disciplinary action may follow.
A memo sent to IRCC employees clarified that workers will not be flagged for low on-site attendance during vacation or sick leave. However, employees who do not meet the office mandate will be expected to explain their absences.
“The pilot aims to ensure transparency and consistency in how on-site attendance is tracked. It will provide managers with data to help address cases of chronic non-compliance and support a fair work environment,”
“The pilot aims to ensure transparency and consistency in how on-site attendance is tracked. It will provide managers with data to help address cases of chronic non-compliance and support a fair work environment,” IRCC said in a statement to CTV News.
The full implementation of the federal government’s return-to-office mandate for workers took effect in late 2024. Meanwhile, all employees of the City of Ottawa will be required to return to the workplace full-time next year.
‘A warning about the future of work’
The new program has already drawn criticism from union representatives.
“Employees don’t need to be tracked, surveilled, and monitored,” said Rubina Boucher, national president of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU). “This fits a broader pattern of increased reliance on artificial intelligence to manage humans, and robots literally roaming federal workplaces with cameras to collect data.
“This isn’t just a concern for the public service – it’s a concern for all of us, and a warning about the future of work.”
The union is calling on the federal government to “cease these workplace oversight programs” and reconsider the RTO mandate.
“Many departments lack adequate office space. Overcrowding drives up costs and forces managers to spend time on avoidable facilities issues—time that should be spent serving Canadians,” said CEIU. “By embracing remote work, the federal government can reduce its real estate footprint and find significant savings for taxpayers.”
Meanwhile, one Reddit user noted that employers can help managers track office attendance by simply making some changes in the office seating arrangement.
“Maybe they could give every person their own workstation, sitting in the same vicinity as their immediate supervisor/manager, and with their colleagues nearby. The team leader could just look and see who’s there,” said the user.
Commenting on the same surveillance and RTO issues, another Reddit user also raised the issue of comfort in the workplace.
“I spend 8 hours there. It’d be nice if I could at least make my desk comfortable with pics of family and personalize to make my own.? But nope, plain white desk it is. I have to spend time I could be working reserving it 30 days in advance so nobody takes my desk.”
Unions have been pushing back against the RTO mandates from governments.
