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By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Remote work discussion clouds PSAC talks

Apr 30, 2023 | 6:00 AM

THE STRIKE BY MEMBERS of the Public Service Alliance of Canada is, for the most part, a dispute about money. But there is at least one issue under discussion that I have some concern about – how to define the rules about working remotely.

Many workers kept their jobs and many businesses stayed alive during COVID-19 by having work done from home. For business, cutting office expenses has been helpful. For workers facing high costs for travel and daycare, it has been a godsend. It has allowed them to keep their lifestyle.

But now that the pandemic has quieted down, many businesses want to have their employees back in the office, at least part of the time. I don’t blame them.

While it is hard to supervise remote workers, the biggest problem in my opinion is the loss of a team approach, which all of the TEAMS, Zoom or Skype meetings cannot replicate. That personal, brainstorming approach that can only come with face-to-face contact, is critical to a successful operation.

For example, in my profession, many news skills can be handled without ever going into the office. With a microphone and the internet, I can do my entire news run from home. A camera crew can get their assignments remotely, head out from home each morning, do their story editing in the field and ship it to the news studio for Bill O’Donovan to read on air.

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But what is missing is the face-to-face camaraderie, discussions of how to approach stories, coming up with new story ideas, allowing a team to be built that will work together to raise their level of accomplishment to new heights. Sorry, but that cannot be done remotely.

There are occasions, often necessitated by distance when a person cannot come into the office. There are other times when a person can indeed work remotely but it would be advantageous to be with others. And people like nurses, police officers and most hospital workers, are precluded from working at home.

The thing that bothers me most about remote work in the PSAC talks is that, as I understand the rhetoric, PSAC wants the right to work remotely to be enshrined in the collective agreement, I don’t like that kind of approach.

PSAC apparently wants remote work rights to be included in the collective agreement, so that anyone with a job that could feasibly be done from home, and who asks for a hybrid schedule, can get one, subject to operational requirements.

After many talks at the bargaining table, I have found that things that are “enshrined” in an agreement tend to turn into problems for both sides. I see grievance after grievance coming from something like this. And to settle these grievances, settlements will be made that, over time, will become gray areas because what was originally enshrined is now looking totally different.

Fair wages and other demands that have been discussed, I think can be resolved. And I think ways can be found to deal with remote work, but what PSAC is asking for is a non-starter for me. Let’s get it off the table and get this dispute resolved. It won’t take much if both sides are serious. It will be even easier if remote work isn’t a discussion point.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.