Federal Employees In Canada Fight For Remote Work Rights

What’s going on:  

For nearly two years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents 230,000 employees, has been in a heated dispute over what they deem to be meager wage increases, an absence of anti-racism training, and the outsourcing of public jobs to the private sector.  

Yet, one of PSAC’s requests could have implications that would ripple across other industries: the right for employees to work remotely, so long as they are efficient. 

Why it matters:  

Currently, federal workers are able to work remotely with their supervisors’ consent, but Christopher Aylward (PSAC’s national president) has made it clear that the union wishes for their upcoming contract to provide definitive outline of remote work. 

How it’ll impact the future:  

Remote work is becoming increasingly important to workers, and some are even pushing for it to be a right, or at least an option.  

The union is strongly encouraging its members to cast their ballots in favor of a strike, which is a strategy commonly employed by unions to push management to sign a deal without having to go on a full-blown strike.  

The outcome of that vote will not be made known until April, just as both sides are embarking on a new round of mediated negotiations. If the PSAC is successful, this could have implications for other employees around the world who wish to work remotely.