On August 14, 2025, the Doug Ford government released a statement ordering all Ontario public servants to return to working in-office full time by January 5, 2026. This order came as a shock to the tens of thousands of government workers who have been working effectively from home since the pandemic hit in March 2020. This is an attack not only on Ontario public servants, but all workers.
How did we get here?
When the province was under lockdown, Ontario’s public servants designed and implemented the policies and programs that were desperately needed as the system strained under the healthcare crisis of a century. Unprecedented funding flowed to Ontario hospitals, long-term care homes, and schools. Vaccines were rolled out across the province. Wage enhancements were administered to frontline staff like personal support workers. There was much more that the Ford government should have done during the pandemic, but what they did do was only possible because of the behind-the-scenes work of tens of thousands of government workers. These public servants created the policy foundation needed for on-the-ground workers to provide essential services—all while working from home five days a week.
In April 2022, the Ford government ordered public servants back to the office three days a week. The Ford government has provided no evidence showing that this partial return to the office had any positive impact on productivity. In fact, many studies show that remote work does not negatively impact productivity. Despite this, Ford is now forcing public servants back to the office five days a week. Instead of evidence, Ford is using his gut to justify this decision.
There is another potential reason behind the decision to push workers back to the office. As was shown with the Greenbelt scandal, the Ford government has a cozy relationship with developers and corporate landlords. The majority of Ontario government office spaces are rented in downtown Toronto. Ford’s friends rely on their buildings being occupied. Furthermore, they rely on the businesses that also rent their spaces being profitable. This has led many to speculate that the real reason workers are returning to the office is because it’s good for lining the pockets of developers. It certainly isn’t good for the pockets of taxpayers who are paying millions for the government to rent (and build) unnecessary office space or for other commuters who will face more traffic and increasingly overcrowded public transportation.
Bad for the public sector
Beyond simple cronyism, the return to the office mandate may also be an attempt by Ford to shrink the capacity of the Ontario public service. When working conditions deteriorate, a certain percentage of employees will leave in search of greener pastures. This situates the return-to-office mandate as the latest in a series of actions to cut down the Ontario public service that began when Ford first took office in 2018 and announced a public servant hiring freeze.
Actions to diminish the public sector go hand in hand with expanding the private sector. We have seen this tactic everywhere from healthcare to the LCBO. When Ontario public servants leave their government jobs, the most obvious places for them to turn for better wages are private consultancy firms like KPMG and Deloitte. These firms are then contracted by the government to work on public projects at higher rates than are paid to public servants.
This push to privatized policy-making has already been a disaster on the federal level. It is a lose-lose on the provincial level as well. No savings for the taxpayer, less job security for the workers, and less transparency for the work. The only winners are the private consultancy firm bosses.
Bad for workers
Beyond the productivity and public services arguments against the return to office, there is also the human element. Many Ontario public servants moved outside of Toronto during the pandemic to find housing they could afford. They were told that remote work was the ‘new normal’ and the government promised its employees that it was innovative and flexible. They now face hours of unpaid commute time at the beginning and end of every workday. Many also have care obligations to children, elderly parents, and/or family members with disabilities. Dropping your kids off at school becomes more difficult when you have to leave home at 7:00 a.m. to go to work. The return to the office will have a tangible negative effect on the quality of life of these workers, which will in turn lead to more stress and more burnout.
Some may not find this reasoning persuasive. Ontario government workers do not garner high levels of sympathy from the general public. They generally have higher wages, better benefits, and a stronger pension than the average worker. Why should they get to work from home on top of all that? This division is exactly what Ford and the ruling class wants. If workers are fighting amongst themselves, then they are not fighting the bosses, landlords, and politicians who are actually screwing them over. As workers, we should see one another as allies, not competition. When one workplace’s working conditions worsen, that makes it easier for other bosses to do the same.
We saw how the Toronto bank’s return to the office paved the way for the Ontario government announcement. Now Ford is pressuring the federal government and municipalities to return to the office fulltime as well. Whether in the public or private sector, all workers are connected. Rising tides lift all boats and falling tides sink them.
Fighting back
We should not watch passively as the tide falls around us. It’s possible to push back against the Ontario government and win. We have seen through the CUPE Education Workers strike and Greenbelt scandal that Ford will walk back decisions when there is enough public pressure against him.
One easy action is to email Premier Doug Ford at premier@ontario.ca and Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney at caroline.mulroney@ontario.ca telling them to reverse the return-to-office mandate.
There are also two petitions from Ontario public servant unions you can sign: one from OPS Unified and another from AMAPCEO. These petitions have already been signed by over ten thousand public servants and allies. There will be a rally on September 18 at noon at Queen’s Park to deliver these petitions to the head of the Ontario Public Service Michelle DiEmanuele.
Lastly, if you are an AMAPCEO member, you can join the Solidarity Caucus, a rank-and-file group of AMAPCEO members fighting the return to office mandate and building solidarity within their union and the broader labour and social justice movement.
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