Representatives of the union representing the majority of MRC Pontiac employees were at the office in Campbell’s Bay last Wednesday morning (May 13) in an attempt to speak with members of the council of mayors regarding the abrupt end to the employees’ work-from-home policy.
The end of the policy was announced at the MRC meeting in March and came into effect on Apr. 27. The previous teleworking policy was put into place in late 2022 and allows for the employer (the council of mayors) to end the policy with five business days’ notice. Previously, employees working five days a week were permitted to work two days per week from home, while those with fewer hours could work from home one day per week. The MRC’s HR committee did not consult with employees before making the change.
Nicolas Leduc-Lafantaisie, a regional president with the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ), along with colleague Danny Babin, attempted to speak to the mayors in person prior to their plenary meeting on May 13.
Leduc-Lafantaisie said that they were told to file a formal meeting request, which they have since done. Leduc-Lafantaisie said that Warden Jane Toller has agreed to meet with them to discuss the issue on Wednesday, May 20.
“Since our presence disrupted the start of the meeting, we agreed to leave the room to allow them to continue their work,” he wrote in a followup email to THE EQUITY. “Afterwards, we spoke with an administrator from the MRC and informed them that we had already made three meeting requests and that this would be the last in the spirit of collaboration.”
He said that they introduced themselves briefly before repeating their message that the mayors have given no reasonable rationale for ending the policy. He said there is no evidence that employees work more effectively in the office, and that their members said that working from home allowed them better work-life balance, reduced travel costs, and better productivity.
“We reminded them that, in our opinion, the mayors made a poor decision based on no tangible evidence and that the employer remains unable to demonstrate the reasons justifying this decision,” he wrote in an email.
THE EQUITY wasn’t able to reach Toller in time for print. Following the April council meeting, Toller said she had received some feedback about the change from MRC employees, but the decision would stand.
“I received 12 letters from 12 employees, we have about 30 unionized staff, and I shared them with the mayors at the plenary meeting. And the decision has remained the same.”
