Since August of 2025, your OPS Unified CERC team has been working hard to fight back against the employer’s unilateral Return-To-Office mandate. From a petition that garnered almost 10,000 signatures, rallies in support of our fight at the labour board and countless media moments, OPS Unified members have shown up to tell our employer that we will not back down.
As part of our efforts, in October 2025, members were encouraged to file individual grievances regarding the Return to Office mandate that was unilaterally implemented by the employer. These actions constituted a clear violation of Appendix 42 of our Collective Agreement, as well as Section 86 of the Ontario Labour Relations Act.
Now, after nearly seven months, many members are receiving standardized “cookie-cutter” denials to their individual Alternative Work Arrangement (AWA) requests. These blanket denials are being delivered regardless of how long arrangements have previously been in place and with no other explanation other than “operational needs.”
We want to be clear – your CERC team firmly opposes the employer’s decision regarding these AWAs and believe that the employer has failed to:
- Adhere to the language outlined in the Collective Agreement
- Respect obligations under the Ontario Labour Relations Act
- Properly apply their own four-part test when evaluating remote work request
As a result, we are strongly encouraging members to file individual grievances in your local in response to these denials as soon as possible. Members only have 30 business days after receiving a denial to initiate a grievance and we need to show the employer that members are ready to fight for their working conditions.
Sample grievance language has been provided below and will be available on the CERC landing page, found here. Once filed through your Local, please forward a copy of your grievance to the CERC at [email protected]. It is vital that we are able to track submissions moving forward in order to support coordinated action.
In addition to the steps outlined above, members are encouraged to request that their Local Employment Relations Committees (LERCs) and Ministry Employment Relations Committees (MERCs) engage with the employer on the feasibility of implementing modern and flexible work arrangements, as contemplated in Appendix 42 of the Collective Agreement.
Be aware that the employer may be unwilling to engage in meaningful discussions on this issue. Given this ongoing disagreement, filing an individual grievance in your local and closely monitoring timelines remains the most effective course of action.
Your CERC Team challenged the Return-to-Office at the Ontario Labour Board, and the formal hearing was concluded in May of 2026. We are now awaiting a final decision to be issued by the Chair of the OLRB and while we do not have a concrete timeline, we anticipate it will take some time.
In the meantime, filing individual grievances regarding the arbitrary denial of your AWA requests may help no matter the outcome of the Policy Grievance. If Your AWA has been denied, please complete the attached Grievance Form and forward to your Chief Steward and cc [email protected]. Feel free to add in your individual AWA issues on the Grievance.
AWA DENIAL Grievance Language – Please copy and paste into your Grievance
STATEMENT OF GRIEVANCE:
The Employer violated the Collective Agreement, including but not limited to Appendix 42, Article 2, and Article 21 by failing to develop and implement modern flexible work arrangement, setting rules that are unreasonable and non-compliant with their obligation to develop and implement modern flexible work arrangements, and failing to exercise their discretion properly in dealing with my AWA request and taking an unreasonable amount of time to respond to my request.
SETTLEMENT DESIRED:
- The Employer to rescind the AWA denial and re-evaluate the request utilizing an individual, reasonable, good-faith assessment within the obligations of APP 42 and other applicable policies and CA entitlements.
- Full disclosure of the factors, analysis, and criteria utilized to assess the request, including any mandates from the Employer and how the 4-fold test was applied to my individual request.