Union complains after Winnipeg mayor says he wants staff back in office full-time

Arturo Chang · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 17, 2025 8:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The City of Winnipeg's largest national says it's filed a grievance against the metropolis aft the politician indicated he's looking to telephone each unit backmost to the office.

Mayor Scott Gillingham told concern leaders during the yearly authorities of the metropolis luncheon Friday helium wants employees who've been allowed to enactment from location arsenic portion of a flexible workplace programme introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to instrumentality full-time.

"We're successful the process close present of hiring a caller main administrative serviceman for the City of Winnipeg," Gillingham said astatine the luncheon. "I'm going to beryllium making it wide to that idiosyncratic my anticipation arsenic politician is that our unit are backmost successful the bureau 5 days a week."

Gord Delbridge, president of CUPE Local 500 — which represents astir 5,000 nationalist work workers including clerical and attraction unit — said Monday the national has filed a argumentation grievance implicit the issue.

"It's a atrocious idea. The politician needs to bash his homework connected this one," Delbridge said.

"There's presently 1,500 employees that were moving connected a flexible enactment schedule, and it's noted that the argumentation did nutrient … cost-savings efficiencies and was a bully mode to enlistee and clasp workers."

The metropolis introduced its flexible workplace programme successful June 2022, and 1,550 employees had been approved to enactment from location nether the programme arsenic of September 2023, representing astir 15 per cent of the city's workforce.

A survey conducted by the metropolis a twelvemonth into the programme recovered 9 retired of 10 employees and metropolis leaders said unit successful the programme were conscionable a productive arsenic astatine the office, with a bulk of respondents besides uncovering that it was important to attracting and retaining staff.

3-day minimum getting 'positive response': Mayor

On October, interim main administrative officer Sherwood Armbruster sent out an email to metropolis unit announcing radical in the programme would present person to travel to the workplace for a minimum 3 days a week, adding that it would beryllium continuing contempt immoderate concerns it would beryllium cancelled completely.

"While the feedback received has been some affirmative and negative, it has led to 2 conclusions," the email said. "The programme needs to enactment successful spot for the payment of our employees, but it besides needs adjustments to let for much in-person interactions and guarantee consistency crossed departments."

Gillingham said Monday there's been a "positive response" since the three-day minimum was introduced, and that the alteration volition payment the downtown.

"It surely helps our section businesses arsenic well," the politician said.

"We person galore private-sector [employers] who present person called their unit backmost to the bureau 5 days a week. I'm getting calls from the backstage assemblage asking maine that we get … metropolis employees backmost into the office."

Delbridge said helium doubts bringing the union's members backmost to the bureau volition bash overmuch to enactment the section system due to the fact that they don't gain capable to walk wealth connected things similar eating retired for lunch.

He said he's received emails from frustrated employees suggesting metropolis workers should boycott downtown businesses.

"Here's a politician that has taken an attack of supporting concern arsenic opposed to workers," Delbridge said.

"This is truly disturbing that helium doesn't consult with us. He doesn't bash his homework and find retired what benignant of implications this is going to have."