Thursday, September 04, 2025
AMAPCEO has filed a union-wide policy dispute against the Ontario Public Service (OPS) Employer over its Return to the Office announcement in mid-August.
In the dispute, filed against the OPS Employer on September 2, the union asserts that the Employer violated the collective agreement by not providing the union with the required advance notice of its plan to effectively end remote and hybrid work.
"If the Employer violates our contract, we’re going to take action over it,” says AMAPCEO President Dave Bulmer.
Article 12 of the AMAPCEO–OPS Collective Agreement requires the Employer to inform the union of a decision involving changes to the workplace at least two weeks before announcing it to employees. In this instance, the Employer notified the union of the decision to return to four, and then five, days a week in-office mere moments before it informed employees on August 14.
“We were blindsided by the Secretary of Cabinet’s announcement,” Bulmer says. “The required two-week notice period would have given us the opportunity to meet with the Employer, share our concerns, and advocate against the Secretary’s plan to roll the public service back to the Stone Age.”
As a resolution, AMAPCEO has requested that the August 14 memo be publicly rescinded and that advance notice be provided under Article 12 of the Collective Agreement. The union is also using the dispute to unearth more information on how the Employer made the policy decision.
Since the Secretary of Cabinet’s announcement, more than 12,000 people have signed the union’s petition telling her remote work works. The union plans to present the Secretary with its petitions at a rally scheduled for Thursday, September 18 at noon.
Nearly 3,000 members in the OPS have formally requested an alternative work arrangement through the union's online tool since August 14.
The union has launched its Remote Work Works campaign and has vowed to fight for flexibility for members who want it.
