"The downtown streets of Canada's biggest cities were silent and empty when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses, schools and government offices in March, 2020. Five years later,some are still struggling with low foot traffic, including inB.C.'s capital, where tourists have returned but many workers have not. In a bid to change that, the private sector, and some levels of the public sector, have been recalling employees to offices in the name of productivity."
"The B.C. government, however, is bucking that trend and has embraced flexible work in its policies. The civil servants' union is also taking steps to make those flexible arrangements more permanent. The BC General Employees' Union continued to escalate rotating strike action on Monday,widening its picketing activities to ten communities. They are asking for higher wages, but also for their current remote work privileges to be enshrined in their next union contract."
Downtowns in Canada's largest cities became quiet when the COVID-19 pandemic closed businesses, schools and government offices in March 2020, and some downtowns still face low foot traffic despite returning tourists. The B.C. government has adopted flexible-work policies for civil servants, while the BC General Employees' Union is pressing to make remote-work privileges permanent and has escalated rotating strike action to ten communities seeking higher wages and contract protections. Approximately one-fifth of B.C.'s 27,000 civil servants work fully remotely, two-thirds have part-time remote agreements, and other provinces and federal employers are increasingly mandating returns to offices.
Read at The Globe and Mail
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