`We feel betrayed': CRA employees will be required to return to office
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will soon require employees to make their way to the office for at least three days a week, following the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's lead.
Marc Brière, national president for the Union of Taxation Employees, which represents over 35,000 employees, confirmed Thursday that the agency will be adopting the same requirements for on-site presence.
“We were absolutely furious,” said Brière, adding that the union plans to file an unfair labour practice complaint against the CRA and has expressed its anger to the employer for not respecting the agreement made to end last year's strike.
“Our people were very upset,” he said.
“We feel betrayed. The trust has been broken.”
The Treasury Board Secretariat updated its direction on prescribed presence in the workplace earlier this week, announcing that all public servants would have to spend three days a week in the office by Sept. 9. Executives will be required to be in the office at least four days a week.
The policy applies to all core public administration employees, though it was recommended that separate employers, like the CRA, adopt a similar strategy “to ensure a coherent approach for the whole public service.”
An email sent from CRA commissioner Bob Hamilton to all agency employees on Wednesday evening noted that the agency would be adopting the same requirements as it believes that the organization “benefits from having a consistent approach with the rest of the public service.”
“The September deadline provides time for us to work on a robust implementation plan and for you to make any arrangements to ensure a good transition,” the email read.
The email indicated that operational requirements could lead to managers requiring further in-person presence up to and including full-time in the office.
“As previously indicated, time spent at agency worksites, client worksites or premises, conducting field work, on travel status, or in a training facility will continue to count towards on-site presence requirements,” the message said.
“Everyone was kind of blindsided,” said Katrina Nadeau, a federal public servant working for the CRA. Consultations on the hybrid work experience were taking place and employees were talking about amalgamating teams into different buildings due to news of the government's plans to get rid of some of its buildings, she said.
In its recent budget, the federal pledged $1.1 billion over 10 years to Public Services and Procurement Canada to reduce its office portfolio by 50 per cent.
“There's a real panic about how we're going to fit people,” said Nadeau. “With the two days in the office and three days out, there wasn't always a whole lot of overlap, but now we've got everyone going in at least three days, there's going to be at least one day of overlap.”
The directive outlined several potential exceptions, including for those hired to work remotely before March 16, 2020, and for those working remotely 125 kilometres or more from their designated worksite.
However, it will no longer include exceptions for call centre or IT workers. The government said the transition “may require more time” for these employees to adapt. Organizations can choose to begin “phasing in the common hybrid work model” in September 2024, with full implementation expected by September 2025.
For the UTE, around 6,000 members working in call centres will be affected by the change.
The UTE held an impromptu rally on Thursday to denounce the CRA'S decision. Brière said the union plans to collaborate with other bargaining agents to fight back against the policy changes.
“We will continue to denounce it,” Brière said. “We want to ramp up the pressure.”