Unions call for flexibility as executive federal staff return to the office full-time

OTTAWA — Unions representing workers across the country were calling on governments to be flexible Monday after executives in the federal public service started a new work schedule that will see them on-site in the office five days a week.

The Treasury Board announced the change to remote work rules in February and said all other employees will have to be in the office four days a week starting July 6.

The new directive applies only to public servants working in the core departments and agencies under Treasury Board, though some separate agencies, like the Canada Revenue Agency and the National Research Council, have said they intend to follow the same approach.

Most public servants were told to work remotely when the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, and core federal employees have been working three days in-office since September 2024, after the standard increased from two days.

Federal unions have fought the government’s back-to-office directives and some have filed unfair labour practice complaints.

Members of the Professional Unions Network of Canada, which includes the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada and the Association of Canadian Financial Officers, denounced the new rules in a joint statement Monday.

The group also includes a public sector union in Ontario and a labour union in British Columbia.

As of Jan. 5, Ontario provincial government employees were expected to work in the office five days per week. Thousands of Alberta government workers also returned to work in their offices full time this year.

“Unions representing professional workers across Canada are calling on governments to abandon their regressive, unilateral return‑to‑office mandates and instead preserve the flexible work arrangements that have proven effective for years,” said the statement.

The unions said governments are “choosing to ignore all evidence,” like the benefits of flexible workplaces, and to act arbitrarily.

The group said the return-to-office rules are “regressive” and governments are undermining productive and collaborative relationships.

“Federal and provincial governments are betraying the trust of the hard-working professionals who have continued to answer the call to serve Canadians during unprecedented global upheaval, while compounding the climate crisis and gridlock affecting Canadians across the country,” the statement read.

The Treasury Board website says there were 9,340 executives working for the federal government as of the end of March 2025, out of 357,965 public servants.

A spokesperson for the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada, or APEX, said in an email that the organization is supporting the executive community through the implementation of the new rules.

The spokesperson said the group has heard from executives about the importance of timely and deliberate engagement, the pressures of leading through change and challenges with workplace infrastructure, like accessing desks and confidential spaces.

“APEX has conveyed these insights to the appropriate senior leaders in the public service,” said the spokesperson. “In addition, APEX is taking the perspectives of the executive community into consideration in the programming and support services that it offers.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press