The history of workers’ rights in Canada demonstrates that in creating the future of work, it is inevitably unions that turn the radical into the everyday.
Critics once argued that the eight-hour workday would be bad for business and lead to lower productivity. Weekends were dismissed as an unrealistic luxury that would hurt the economy. Until women and unionists won the fight for paid maternity leave for workers in 1971, they faced fierce resistance from employers and anti-labor critics.
If we relied on broad public support to advance workers’ rights in Canada, we would never have achieved same-sex marriage, women’s right to vote, the right to safe abortion, and so many other rights that we take for granted.
There is currently a lot of unrest among Canadian federal employees over new government mandates to increase office work, with federal union members seeing frustration over this regressive approach to teleworking.
But this isn’t just an issue for federal employees — it highlights a long-standing struggle for all workers.
Old arguments are being recycled to argue against remote work, which is the way of the future for millions of workers. And these excuses were and still are nonsensical. From the eight-hour workday to remote work, it has always been workers who have opposed the corporate status quo.
In 2020, the pandemic caused major changes to our work habits virtually overnight, proving that vast numbers of people could work effectively from home. Large companies like X (formerly Twitter) and Shopify shifted their employees to fully remote work, setting a trend that was soon followed by employers and governments across the country. This launched a new digital gold rush as companies rushed to launch new digital tools and software to help make remote work actually work.
But as the urgency of the pandemic fades, employers across North America are reverting to the old belief that “being at a desk” means workers are more productive — a misconception that persists despite overwhelming evidence that teleworking significantly improves workers’ work-life balance, helps reduce carbon emissions amid the climate crisis, and maintains or even increases worker productivity.
We have found new ways of working, and better ways of working at the same time, and reverting to old patterns because they are comfortable for old-school managers would be a disservice to the civil service and the community at large.
This isn’t about how many days workers should spend in the office. This is about the future of work as we know it for tens of millions of Canadian workers who can work from home just as effectively as they can in the office.
A new survey from Abacus Data backs this up, showing that almost 70% of Canadians think it’s a good idea for employers to allow employees to work remotely where possible.
There’s no doubt that adapting to change takes courage, but the pandemic has removed many of the barriers necessary to pave the way for the future of work.
As we have seen in the past, unions have the collective power to drive change that benefits all workers in every sector, from private to public, unionized and non-unionized.
As in previous great fights for workers’ rights, unions will once again be at the forefront of ensuring flexible, remote work options become standard practice for all workers. And as we’ve seen time and again, when unionized workers secure better wages, safer workplaces, and better benefits, these improvements will ripple through to workers everywhere as employers compete for the best and brightest employees.
The public employee unions’ push for teleworking could set a new standard that forces all Canadian employers to adapt and innovate, ensuring the workforce of the future is happier, more resilient, inclusive and productive.
As we navigate these changes, let us remember that all of society benefits when unions lead.
Where feasible, the right to work remotely should be seen as the next great frontier in the fight for workers’ rights, and by leading this effort, trade unions are upholding their tradition of securing progressive change that ultimately improves the quality of life and work for everyone.