AWA requests could include requests to work remotely, approval to work from a different government location, or adjusted hours of work. <\/p>\n
While some workers have gotten at least partial approvals for alternate work arrangements, most have received outright rejections, union officials say. <\/p>\n
OPSEU, which represents around 200,000 Ontario government employees, says its members have submitted around 10,000 applications for alternate work arrangements (AWA) since government workers were ordered back to the office full-time earlier this year. Prior to that, thousands of OPS employees were still allowed to work from home at least part-time, as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. <\/p>\n
Eckert said the majority of requests appear to have been denied or ignored. <\/p>\n
AMAPCEO, which represents more than 17,000 professionals across government, said just a small fraction of its members have received responses to their requests, but most have been rejections. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf the roughly 5,500+ requests AMAPCEO members have submitted, there have been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 250 responses, and about 90 per cent of those responses have been outright denials with little to no rationale,\u201d AMAPCEO told CP24.com in an email.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney\u2019s office said it expects Ontario government employees to be at government workplaces. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect the Ontario Public Service to be in the workplace five days a week, reflecting the people and businesses we serve in Ontario,\u201d the statement reads. <\/p>\n
Rejection letters similar<\/p>\n
Several rejection letters sent to OPSEU members and shared with CP24.com were sent out by assistant deputy ministers and utilized similar language. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour request was received, reviewed on its individual merits using the information provided and the fourfold test, and has been denied,\u201d two of them read. <\/p>\n
The \u201cfour-fold test\u201d refers to the criteria for managers to consider AWA requests. It stipulates that decisions must be made in good faith; be a genuine exercise of discretionary power; focus on the individual application; and consider only relevant facts. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is, when you see a number of members in different ministries getting almost identical emails or letters that state they\u2019ve been denied,\u201d Eckert said. \u201cWas this taking into consideration each individual? I\u2019m going to say there\u2019s no way it could be. You wouldn\u2019t give a blanket statement to every individual that applied for an alternative work arrangement.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/K76R4U54B5CV3KEUXFKTNIWWZM.jpg\")
Queens Park The Ontario legislature building is pictured at Queen’s Park. (Joshua Freeman \/CP24) <\/p>\n
While the letters shared with CP24.com included some sentences that appeared unique to the individual, most used very similar language overall, sometimes with just one or two words changed or rearranged. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe OPS operates as a full-time, five-day in-office organization, and all remote work requests must be assessed against that onsite baseline,\u201d one reads. <\/p>\n
Another reads: \u201cThe OPS operates as a full-time, five-day, in-office organization, and all requests for remote work must be evaluated against this onsite standard.\u201d<\/p>\n
A third reads: \u201cThe OPS operates as a full-time, in-office organization and as such, all remote work requests must be assessed against that onsite baseline.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the letters rejected a request that was made \u201cin support of work-life balance and to focus.\u201d Another partially approved a request to work out of a different office roughly 100 kilometres away, but only one day a week for up to a year. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s interesting to have them all kind of denied at one time when we\u2019re about to go back to the Ontario Labour Relations board on May 26,\u201d Eckert said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about flexibility or convenience. This isn\u2019t about us asking for something new. It\u2019s about protecting established working conditions and respecting the collective agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/BX2MIY7F7IGRDNJMPDGYXDU3W4.jpg\")
Caroline Mulroney Treasury Board of Ontario President Caroline Mulroney is seen in this file photo. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/P2ZJJNQSENH6ZCKK7QRZGPVAMY.JPG\")
BMO Field One of four giant LCD screens located around the pitch at BMO Field is shown as part of the stadium\u2019s upgrades ahead of hosting six FIFA World Cup 2026 matches in Toronto, Ont., March 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Eduardo Lima <\/p>\n