Canada Revenue Agency to require public servants in office 4 days a week

Unions are raising concerns about office space after the CRA informed staff they’ll soon be required in-office four days a week. CTV’s Stefan Keyes reports.

Public servants at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will have to spend more time in the office starting this summer.

The Canada Revenue Agency told employees on Thursday that it will follow the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s directive that public servants must spend a minimum of four days a week in office.

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The Union of Taxation Employees tells CTV News that by the end of July, employees “will start to be forced to go to the office four days a week.”

“It’s following the marching orders of Treasury Board,” Marc Brière, president of the Union of Taxation Employees, said Thursday afternoon.

Brière said the four day a week office mandate will only apply to workers in offices “where they have enough space to accommodate them.”

“So, it’s going to be what I call the CRA lottery,” Brière said.

“Now those who are not lucky have a bad number, they’re going to be forced to go back to the office four days a week. The others will remain at three, and some, even more luckier with a winning number, will remain at two days a week.”

Brière said at least a third of the CRA buildings across Canada don’t have spaces for all employees.

In February, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat announced a new return-to-office mandate for employees in the core public service. As of May 4, all executives in the public service are required to be in the office five days a week, and all other employees will be required onsite a minimum of four days per week starting July 6.

In a statement on Friday, the Canada Revenue Agency confirmed non-executive employees will transition to working on-site four days per week starting in late July.

“Given that the CRA is still working to meet the capacity levels necessary, implementation timelines will vary across the country based on building readiness and operational capacity,” the CRA said in an email to CTV News Ottawa.

“Employees will not be expected to work in offices that do not have proper capacity to allow them to do their work.”

The agency said it is unable to confirm the “complete list of buildings” where non-executive employees will not be required to be on-site four days a week.

The Canada Revenue Agency is the largest federal department and agency, with 52,499 employees.

Last week, the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) called on CRA to pause any plans for a return-to-office mandate, saying the agency needed to show that “CRA workplaces are ready.”

“For too many CRA employees, the reality of return-to-office is overcrowded offices, inconsistent rules, limited workstations, and more time spent navigating workplace logistics instead of doing the work Canadians rely on,” PIPSC said.

“Some members are commuting to the office only to work alone, take virtual meetings, or sit away from the colleagues they are supposed to be collaborating with.”

Two federal departments have already announced the four-day in-office requirements will be delayed for federal public servants due to a lack of office space – Global Affairs Canada and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. The Department of National Defence said workspace “may be limited” at certain buildings, and implementation of the four-day office mandate will be “managed by managers.”

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