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Thousands of government employees are back working in Edmonton’s downtown core Monday, marking the end of Alberta’s hybrid work policy.
Nearly 12,000 employees were ordered back to full-time, in-person work in a move the public service workers’ union claim is to revitalize the city centre — something the province says is untrue.
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees’ Vice-President Bobby-Joe Borodey said the group has received mixed messaging from the government on the reason for the in-person return, with some members saying they learned that the decision was made to benefit downtowns or to increase day-to-day collaboration.
“These members have been working remotely since the pandemic. There have not been complaints. There have not been productivity issues, and so at this particular point in time, no one has actually been able to tell us why they need to go back to the office,” she told CBC News Monday.
The union represents 24,000 government workers including some 9,000 employees who were ordered back to in-person work.
Marisa Breeze, a senior press secretary to Finance Minister Nate Horner, said the decision to return to in-person work was made independently by the Public Service Commission as part of its mandate to manage Alberta’s public service.
“The hybrid work model introduced during COVID-19 was always intended as a temporary measure,” said Breeze in a statement to CBC News on Monday. “Flexibility for individual cases will still exist where needed, depending on the job and worker circumstances.”
LISTEN | What local businesses think of the end of hybrid work:
Edmonton AM6:29Provincial employees back in the office
Alberta government workers are back in the office full time this week. Businesses in the core are cautiously optimistic that more people downtown could lead to a boost in sales. Edmonton AM reporter Morgan Black joined us from the Coffee Bureau on Jasper Avenue.
Borodey said in a news release Monday that ending hybrid work arrangements won’t improve the delivery of public services, but merely removes the flexibility employees desire and will contribute to congestion in the downtown core.
But Peter West, the co-owner of Coffee Bureau on Jasper Ave., did not notice a drastic change in foot traffic to his business on Monday and wasn’t anticipating it either.
“I wasn’t expecting this to be some lottery ticket. The reality is downtown Edmonton does still have a lot of obstacles — this block in particular also has a lot of challenges,” West said, referencing empty downtown offices since the start of the pandemic.
Though government workers are back downtown for in-person work, Coffee Bureau co-owner Peter West says only time will tell if the move will benefit businesses like his café. (Scott Neufeld/CBC)‘Hybrid work tastes better’
AUPE said in a Monday press release it has filed a policy grievance against the province, claiming the decision to end the hybrid work program was in “bad faith.” Members have also made roughly 700 individual complaints about this policy change, said Borodey.
“Why would we return to a model that isn’t as good as the model that we’ve currently been working from?”
Workers upset with the end of hybrid work have started participating in a brown bag protest, placing paper lunch bags on their desks with a note saying “Hybrid work tastes better.”
“Members are bringing these to work to spread the word about the campaign to colleagues — and to send a powerful visual message to the employer that this issue is important to us,” said an AUPE press release Monday.
Despite government workers being back in their office spaces, West said only time will tell if the move will benefit downtown businesses like his café.
“It’s not a complicated business we have, and we’re just happy to serve anyone who wants to come through the door,” said West.
“For as long as people are willing to support us here, I’m happy to stay.”