The union representing the majority of MRC Pontiac employees has denounced the abrupt end to teleworking, as well as the lack of communication from MRC elected officials to affected staff regarding this policy.
The change was announced at the MRC meeting in March and comes into effect on Apr. 27. The existing 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, the regional president of the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ), said that the union has been stonewalled in its attempts to discuss the changes with the council of mayors.
“There has been no discussion with the council of mayors despite our efforts,” he said in a French interview.
After the change was approved at the March council of mayors meeting, MRC Pontiac warden Jane Toller said the change was in line with other levels of government.
“I’m not sure that the residents of the Pontiac even know that we still have people working two days a week at home, but I do know that there wouldn’t be many other Pontiac employers that are offering this,” she said.
The SFPQ represents public employees across the province, and Leduc-Lafantaisie said that no other MRC had abruptly ended their telework like MRC Pontiac. The federal government recently announced a four-day-per-week return to office, and the Quebec government capped telework at two days per week earlier this year.
The SFPQ surveyed the MRC’s unionized employees and found that more than 50 per cent of respondents said that telework was a part of their work conditions when they were hired, and half of those said that it was a significant factor when they accepted the job. Around 40 per cent of employees who responded to the survey indicated they were seriously considering quitting due to the changes.
Leduc-Lafantaisie added that 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.
When asked following the Apr. 16 council of mayors meeting about the response from staff, Warden Toller said she received some feedback from employees, but the decision made by the mayors will 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,” she said.
She pointed to neighbouring MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau, stating that it never had a telework policy.
Leduc-Lafantaisie said that the unionized MRC employee’s contract expires at the end of the year and he anticipated more difficult negotiations.
“For us, the negotiations will be much less jovial,” he said. “It’s certain that telework will be a major part of the negotiations.”
