Thousands of Ontario civil servants will return to the office full time next year, as the Ford government officially ends its pandemic policies.
The government said staff who are going to work three days a week will move to four days in October, then toward a full return by Jan. 5, 2026.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he believed people work better in the office, encouraging collaboration.
“I believe everyone’s more productive when they’re at work,” he said. “How do you mentor someone over the phone? You can’t. You got to look at them eye to eye or at the watercooler.”
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Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said the province had been studying how other governments and businesses handle the return to work before deciding to order all civil servants back.
“The return to a five days per week in-workplace standard represents the current workforce landscape in the province and it reinforces our commitment to reflecting the people and businesses we serve across Ontario,” she said in a statement.
An internal memo from Secretary of the Cabinet Michelle Di Emanuele, seen by Global News, echoed that the decision was “in line with an increasing number of organizations across the public and private sectors.”
“Our return to five days in-office per week will be guided by our commitment to flexibility, respect for collective agreements and in alignment with the Ontario Human Rights Code,” Di Emanuele wrote.
Dave Bulmer, the president of AMAPCEO, which represents Ontario’s civil servants, claimed the government was “hellbent” on stopping his members working from home.
“I am incensed by this morning’s announcement that the OPS will be returning to five days in the office in the new year,” he said in a statement. “The Secretary of Cabinet is now using policy to force through what couldn’t be wrested from us during free and fair collective bargaining.”
The announcement comes after some private sector companies, including several Canadian banks, have announced their own adjustments to hybrid work policies.
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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