'In addition to lessening the pain workers are feeling at the pump, this move would help reduce emissions and congestion'
Canadian unions are pushing for expanded work-from-home options in the federal and provincial public sectors, tying telework directly to fuel costs and energy security.
The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) is calling on the federal government to implement recommendations from the International Energy Agency (IEA) “to curb oil demand and combat soaring prices and fuel shortages in response to the conflict in Iran,” stressing that “the agency’s number one recommendation is to work from home wherever possible.”
“Canadians are suffering right now, and the IEA has provided a solution to ease this pain,” says CAPE president Nathan Prier. “Carney must break his silence and explain why he is intent on enforcing a return-to-office order for the country’s largest employer when remote work could save billions of taxpayer dollars, improve productivity, and reduce emissions and transportation network pressures.”
CAPE notes that during the COVID-19 crisis, federal public servants transitioned to fully remote work and "productivity across the public service increased during this period.”
IEA encourages WFH
Earlier this month, the IEA urged governments, businesses and households to use work-from-home arrangements as a key tool to ease surging oil prices and fuel shortages triggered by the war in the Middle East.
Executive director Fatih Birol called it “a major energy crisis” and warned that “in the absence of a swift resolution, the impacts on energy markets and economies are set to become more and more severe.”
The report noted that road transport accounts for “around 45 per cent of global oil demand” and pairs remote work with lower highway speed limits, a shift from private cars to public transport, more car sharing and efficient driving, and better efficiency in freight and delivery operations.
Beyond commuting, the IEA recommended reducing air travel “where alternative options exist” to ease pressure on jet fuel.
B.C. union calls for WFH full time
In British Columbia, the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) is making a parallel case as fuel prices climb, calling on the provincial government to allow provincially regulated employees, where possible, to work from home full time.
BCGEU says it is joining CAPE’s call in asking governments to implement the IEA’s recommendations for reducing demand on oil and gas. President Paul Finch says “the increasing price of gas places an undue burden on workers across the province” and that “the provincial government has an opportunity to help alleviate that burden by allowing workers the flexibility to work from home.”
“In addition to lessening the pain workers are feeling at the pump, this move would help reduce emissions and congestion,” Finch adds.
The BCGEU is also asking the province “to explore options to provide temporary relief for those workers who travel extensively for work (e.g. home support and community outreach workers) and who may not have many options for public transportation if fuel prices remain high.”
B.C. government points to existing flexible work framework
However, the B.C. government says its public service operates under a broad flexible work framework, while underlining that remote work decisions must reflect operational needs and service levels.
In an email to The Canadian Press (CP), a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance says the B.C. Public Service “has a well-defined approach to flexible work” that allows employees to work remotely “up to full time” on a voluntary basis “where it is operationally feasible and mutually agreed to by the employee and employer.”
The province says about 70 per cent of public service workers had telework agreements as of January, indicating that hybrid or remote arrangements are widely used. It also stresses that individual ministries “have the discretion to determine the extent to which they adopt flexible work arrangements within their specific operational contexts,” with service delivery remaining the priority.
With employees feeling the pinch at the pump and employers pushing harder on return-to-office, the question of whether to subsidize commuting is resurfacing – and the answer, says one Canadian HR scholar, is “only if the business case is clear.”
Here’s are the monthly average retail prices for gasoline and fuel oil in different parts of Canada in the past few months, according to Statistics Canada (StatCan):
