The City of Ottawa Municipal Employees Union is calling on Mayor Jim Watson and City Council to delay the return to office of employees working from home due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the nation’s capital.
In a letter to Mayor Watson, the Professional Institute for Municipal Personnel (CIPP) said it “is concerned about the health and safety of its members and the wider community they serve.”
CIPP points out that the level of COVID-19 in sewage in Ottawa is at its highest point since the pandemic began and continues to rise.
In this context, the union is calling on the city to postpone the return to frontal work and reinstate the requirements on wearing a mask and physical distancing.
The union also wants to take steps to control and improve ventilation and air filtration in all workplaces.
“It left us all provinces exposed,” CIPP CEO Peter Bleyer wrote. With the removal of public health regulations, we must look to our City to ensure the safety of workers, ”he added.
The City has not yet specified when the return to work will occur.
Ottawa has more than 19,000 municipal employees, but only 25% of them can do their jobs through teleworking. These employees have recently begun a gradual return to the office.
More information to come…
Information from Frédéric Pépin
Source: Radio-Canada