Today, the Ontario government announced it will require thousands of Ontario Public Service (OPS) workers to return to working in the office full-time starting January 5, 2026. The decision was made without meaningful consultation with workers and without consideration for the realities frontline public service workers face.
“Ontario’s public services are strong because of the dedicated workers who deliver them, yet time and time again this government refuses to listen to the voices of frontline workers about what they need,” said OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick. “Unilateral decisions like this are a slap in the face to the very workers who kept the OPS running effectively throughout and after the pandemic.”
The Treasury Board Secretariat has confirmed that the return to full-time work in office will begin with a mandatory four-day schedule starting October 20, 2025, ramping up to five days in January of next year. The Central Employee Relations Committee (CERC), representing OPS workers, was given less than an hour’s notice before the public announcement via a “confidential” memo that shut out public dialogue and input from the workers who are affected.
“This is a top-down decision made without transparency, without negotiation, and without any evidence that it will improve service to the people of Ontario. Workers in the OPS have proven we can deliver for Ontarians under a hybrid model,” said OPSEU/SEFPO OPS Unified Bargaining Team Chair and OPS Unified CERC Chair, Amanda Usher.
The government’s announcement also comes when members of the OPS represented by OPSEU/SEFPO are in the middle of collective bargaining.
“Our members are the experts on what makes the Ontario Public Service work. They will come to the table with proposals – grounded by this expertise – that will enable us to continue to deliver strong public services while respecting the needs of workers. Decisions like this about our members’ working conditions should be made in consultation with those workers, not through public announcements,” added Hornick.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/SEFPO) represents approximately 40,000 workers in Ontario’s Public Service – half of whom already work on-site full-time. For the rest of the workers in the Ontario Public Service, hybrid work has provided measurable benefits in productivity, retention, and well-being.
“The government’s blanket approach ignores the diversity of OPS workplaces, job functions, and individual needs,” said Usher. “Many OPS workers have built their lives around the flexibility of hybrid work, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, disabilities, or long commutes.”
OPSEU/SEFPO is calling on the provincial government to immediately halt the return-to-office plan and engage in meaningful dialogue with the unions representing Ontario’s Public Service workers.