“What’s next, a mandate to start using fax machines?”: Ontario public sector union boss Dave Bulmer on Doug Ford’s return-to-office mandate

Doug Ford has ordered government employees back to the office five days a week, starting January 5. As leader of more than 16,500 workers—IT experts, policy analysts, even veterinarians—how do you feel? Incredulous. My members have worked three days a week in the office since April of 2022. Five days feels like a return to the Stone Age.

When did you realize your pyjama-bottom days were ending? Honestly, the premier’s announcement was a complete shock. My members have a contractual right to request flexible work, and more than 6,000 of them have recently asked for as much. But the Ontario public sector employer never consulted us.

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Meaning you think this is the province barrelling its agenda forward, procedural requirements be damned? Yes. Had a proper consultation occurred, we could have mutually figured out how much additional office space was required and which workers would be coming in on which days.

The premier believes that working from home is bad for mentorship. Does he have a point? He absolutely does. There are social and creative benefits to working in an office. But those are still achieved under our hybrid model. Very few of my members can afford to live downtown. Two days at home gives them back six hours to be with their children and manage their lives. Taking away remote work feels so punitive. And for what?

It sounds like you may have a theory. The mandate seems driven by politics. Ford’s base sits on two sides of a spectrum: rural voters, who tend to do physical labour and think anyone working from home is goofing off, and the elites—powerful real estate owners, like Brookfield, that own all the empty offices downtown and are desperate to fill them. But the larger problem for Queen’s Park is talent recruitment and retention. Workers know that the public sector offers less money but better benefits, such as flexibility. Younger workers, in particular, are prioritizing lifestyle benefits. They won’t simply embrace the five-day mandate. They will just leave.

To where? It’s not just the public sector pushing for a return to the office. Most of the big banks are too. Those are some of the real estate owners I mentioned, trying to justify their overhead. We are in a moment of economic instability, so employers have more power. But to see them wield that power this way is disheartening.

Your union has called Ford’s mandate “disrespectful.” Isn’t it also disrespectful to defy the boss? It is an employer’s duty to consider the well-being of its employees, particularly when there is no legitimate downside to their current way of working. During the pandemic, 99 per cent of my workers were remote. For the past three and a half years, they’ve been hybrid. If this model weren’t effective, the bureaucracy would have corrected itself years ago.

You mentioned big business. What about mom-and-pops? I’m sure sandwich makers want more workers downtown. That’s one of the government’s counterpoints, but it feels disingenuous. One of my members who lives in Oshawa and works downtown is spending two days’ worth of money in their local economy and three days’ worth in Toronto. Hybrid work is a good way to drive commerce in both communities. I’m not saying that small businesses aren’t hurting. But propping them up by forcing workers into the core just prolongs a false economy. What’s next, a mandate to start using fax machines?

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Ontario’s civil servants began working four days a week in the office this past October. How’s it going? It’s been a disaster. The vast majority of my members are still at home for two days a week because there’s no space. Or they’re in the office, perching on windowsills or working in reception. Taxpayers should be concerned about the need for more space. Our hybrid model has resulted in 40 per cent real estate savings. Ontario cut costs by selling off properties and relinquishing leases. Now the province has to spend hundreds of millions on reacquisition. That money could go toward infrastructure, housing, hospitals. And I haven’t even mentioned how these mandates put pressure on transit and traffic.

You’re saying Ford is worsening gridlock? Maybe you should have led with that. It all just adds to our frustration.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.