CRA employees will also have to work in the office 3 days a week

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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will soon require employees to come to the office at least three days a week, following the lead of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.

Marc Brière, national president of the Union of Tax Employees, which represents more than 35,000 employees, confirmed Thursday that the agency will adopt the same requirements for on-site presence.

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“We were absolutely furious,” Brière said, adding that the union plans to file an unfair labor practices complaint against the CRA and has expressed its anger at the employer for not honoring the agreement reached to end last year’s strike.

“Our people were very upset,” he said.

“We feel betrayed. Trust has been broken.”

The Treasury Board Secretary updated its guidance on mandatory workplace presence earlier this week, announcing that all public servants would have to spend three days a week in the office by September 9. Executives must be in the office at least four days a week.

The policy applies to all senior public service employees, although it was recommended that separate employers, such as the CRA, adopt a similar strategy “to ensure a consistent approach across the public service”.

An email sent by CRA Commissioner Bob Hamilton to all agency employees Wednesday night noted that the agency would adopt the same requirements, believing the organization “benefits from having an approach consistent with the rest of the public service”.

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“The September deadline gives us time to work on a solid implementation plan and for you to make any arrangements to ensure a smooth transition,” the email said.

The email indicated that operational requirements could lead to managers requiring increased in-person presence, including full time in the office.

“As noted above, time spent at Agency workplaces, at client workplaces or facilities, performing field work, in travel status, or at a training facility will continue to count toward on-site presence requirements,” the message said.

“Everyone was a little surprised,” said Katrina Nadeau, a federal civil servant who works for the CRA. Consultations were taking place about the hybrid work experience and employees were talking about merging teams in different buildings due to news about the government’s plans to get rid of some of its buildings, she said.

In its recent budget, the federal government pledged $1.1 billion over ten 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 accommodate people,” Nadeau said. “With the two days in the office and the three days out, there wasn’t always a lot of overlap, but now that we have everyone working at least three days, there will be at least one day of overlap.”

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Nadeau said he has already had problems reserving office space.

“There have definitely been times where I go to reserve a desk and there’s nothing available,” he said. “What most people are quite frustrated about is that what they say and what we are experiencing are two different things.”

“I understand the in-person aspect, I enjoy it, but there are many people who, for different reasons, whether they are single parents, whether they have mental health problems, whether they have physical disabilities… working from home is perfect for them, because that is a “One less stressor they have to worry about and they do the same kind of work.”

The directive outlined several possible exceptions, including for those hired to work remotely before March 16, 2020 and for those who work remotely 125 kilometers or more from their designated workplace.

However, it will no longer include exceptions for call center or IT workers. The government said the transition “may require additional 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.

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For the UTE, around 6,000 members who work in the call center will be affected by the change.

The UTE held an improvised demonstration on Thursday to denounce the CRA’s decision. Brière said the union plans to collaborate with other bargaining agents to fight the policy changes.

“We will continue to report it,” Brière said. “We want to increase the pressure.”

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