Remote work a key issue in PSAC negotiations | Tom Mulcair on why employers are keeping watch

CTV News political commentator on why employers are keeping watch of the PSAC negotiations as the strike continues.

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49 comments

  1. Give them the money. Working from home is a problem. For me, I don’t want my private info on screen in someone’s home. How do you monitor their actual working hours?

    1. @Johnny Hanson Which services are worse off? This is an honest question, btw. I can’t find any reports on performance, just anecdotes.

    2. @pyRoy6 my citizenship certificate took 2 years and a couple months then to get my passport was 7 months, our service canada office has only 1 person in it who gives out instruction on how to get ahold of someone on the internet, emails take months if they are answered at all, the working from home has been a joke with horrendous services yet they got a raise in pay by getting to stay home and no expenses to and from an office, they should take a huge cut in pay til things are better than theyve ever been

    3. Oh that’s easy connect to a work VPN and monitor them as well. Let them work the way that is most productive to them.

    4. @Johnny Hanson So…I just wrote that I can’t find a report, only anecdotes. And then you give me anecdotes. Not very helpful. Especially when you’re talking about the passport backlog.

    1. True, then the government of Canada should offer then 5 %
      They where hired to work at the office not home.
      The federal of provincial get the best pay and benefits in the country.
      Cheers 🇨🇦

  2. The idea is that some workers will be working from home. Remote work needs to be applied equally. Favouritism should not factor into why a worker is denied. It should be performance based and correct reasoning. Eg Manager has a favourite worker and lets that worker, remote work even though they have shown the inability to perform duties remotely. Another workers has proven they can perform duties from home but is denied cause manager’s favourite wants to work remote. That is what the Union wants in the contract.

    1. I think what you’re saying is that remote, hybrid, and in-office work should make sense, and that decisions surrounding those things should be applied with justification. And that’s exactly what the union is trying to get into the CBA.

    2. No these workers havent even come close to proving they can work from home. Passports, CRA have been disasters. There was a study out as to how productive you were working from home and the highest was 46%. If work from home is warranted and approved by thier manager then a pay cut is in order. 15 to 20% sounds but right.

    3. @pyRoy6 And that will ands shouldn’t ever happen. Because that is a managerial right which should never be part of a contract. The need from working from home isnt relevant anymore. Back top the office and my dam passport which has been there for over a month. So working form home isnt the answer

    4. @Ken Nords Fan The passport backlog was due to everyone applying in April 2022. It was cleared by the fall. I don’t recall any issues with CRA, but I’m open to looking into it. Citing “a study” is cherry-picking at best. You don’t think you could find dozens of studies saying that remote work has been a success? And of course it’s a management decision. Everything is a management decision…until workers get organized and push back. The next thing you know, every worker is getting two days off every week, and all sorts of other absurdities, right? And the world ended.

    5. “It should be performance based”. – LMFAO. That is completely contrary to the fundamental premise of unions.

  3. If remote work is outlined in an agreement then standards for the security/privacy of our information can be established. Without that any manager can ok remote work with no security/privacy standards in place.

  4. How can we be sure that our personal information will be secure. There are breaches as it is. As well, I don’t believe that working remotely is a healthy way for those employees.

    1. Remote work has been underway since the Covid outbreak hit and there have been no issues with security or release of any personal information.

    2. I don’t work for the government but I do work from home having handled sensitive financial information. I’m much more productive at home, use a work computer connected to a work VPN and have had zero info compromised.

      I’m able to concentrate at work, improved mental health, more time to myself since I’m not commuting.

      If I can do a job remotely why should I come to the office (I do go once a week though)? Seems kinda redundant wasting space. Not to mention I can still have meetings via teams as well.

      If the job can be done remotely then why not. If downtown businesses can’t adapt then let the free market turf those out of date businesses.

  5. Remote work. Yeah psac employees were sooo effective working from home, just ask anyone who tried to renew their passport during the pandemic.

    1. So you’re expectation was to make them available just for you? You work for govt go get covid so I can selfishly get my passport

    2. @Pat L lol I did get covid. Thanks. I didn’t get to work from home, I was /am of the expendable essential services. Regardless, seeing as though you need this basic concept spelled out, psac couldn’t deliver the basic services while working from home then, so why would we expect them to deliver said services working from home now?

  6. I recall way back in the 90’s the idea of working from home online was touted as a solution to end pollution and save energy,now they are it?

    1. This has nothing to do with the prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau.
      The federal and provincial workers in Canada have the best wages and benefits in the country.
      They where hired to work to at the office not at home.
      Maybe around of layoffs like premier Harris did in the 90’s 13 thousand where let go.
      Cheers 🇨🇦

  7. You go to work, get rated based on your ability and performance. depending on those results your pay may Increase or decrease. Staying at home unsupervised can only mean we will once again pay more for worse services. The Classic Canadian way. If you work from home you should have your pay decreased! Not needing to drive and pay for our insane fuel costs is a raise already! A huge raise ! Get off the couch!

  8. Just saying if the government allows remote work, who’s to stop there. Next step call centres overseas that do it cheaper and with way less overhead. They do not care about the workers and this will only help set precedent for a darker future with a lot less federal workers.

    1. Did you mean a brighter future with a lot fewer federal workers or a darker future with a lot more federal workers? That auto-correct is messing with you.

    2. Call center are cheaper to run on a remote work model then on site work. The employee are already setup remote and the optimisation is mostly done. Why go back for call center? Specially that since covid mist new employee applied for remote work on job otherwise not available to them. To force them to work on site is to tell them to find a new job…

  9. It’s honestly hilarious that something that was put in place to help prevent the spread during the pandemic is now something that can be bargained for. Go to work like everyone else. Unless there is bonafide proof it’s more efficient for them to work from home it shouldn’t even be an option.

  10. “The Globe and Mail reported that “striking federal public servants will continue to receive their regular salaries until at least May 10.” That’s three weeks after the strike started.” source; The Canadian Taxpayers Federation

    1. Probably the federal and provincial workers get the best pay and benefits in the country.
      The federal government of Canada needs to start raining the cost.
      Remember the premier of Ontario layoff 13,000 in the 90
      Cheers 🇨🇦

    2. Any strike day will eventually be entered as “leave without pay” and adjusted on later paydays as necessary.

    1. Maybe do around of layoffs like the premier of Ontario did Mike Harris layoff $13,000 in the 90’s
      Cheers 🇨🇦

  11. They where hired to work at the office not at home.
    They are greatly over paid and huge benefits that the average Canadian company don’t have.
    The federal government needs to control the cost as it’s Canadians paying.

  12. Mulcair? As the leader of the NDP, what exactly did he accomplish in providing “sick days” to Canadian worker? Nothing? He’s nothing but hot air!

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