City workers asked to report to offices, despite social distancing push during COVID-19 outbreak

Thestar.com
March 17, 2020
Jennifer Pagliaro

City workers who can work remotely are concerned the city is asking them to report for work, even as Toronto’s medical officer of health has asked that anyone who can stay home do so.

At a city hall press conference on Monday updating the public on the COVID-19 outbreak, Dr. Eileen de Villa told Toronto residents: “If you can, stay home. Help out our city by reducing your interaction with others. Every little bit, every effort, counts.”

But even as residents are being asked to distance themselves from others to reduce the spread of the virus, the city’s inside workers -- including planners, policy staff and IT specialists -- are alarmed they’re being directed to come to work by their employer, the City of Toronto.

Several city workers have contacted the Star, sharing an email sent on Sunday from Omo Akintan, the city’s chief people officer, that instructed all city workers, except for those who were sick or self isolating, to report to work as scheduled on Monday.

Questioned on that decision, city manager Chris Murray told reporters at Monday’s press conference the city is “following the general principle” that “if possible, where possible” employees would be able to work from home. But he stressed there was a difference between private businesses and the public service with a responsibility to staff essential services.

“We would not bring anyone into the city to work here if it wasn’t safe,” Murray said.

An email sent to employees after the press conference and signed by Murray asked managers and supervisors “to use their discretion and be flexible in considering employee requests to work from home where operationally feasible to ensure business continuity.”

Toronto Fire Chief Matthew Pegg, who is heading the city’s emergency operations, said at the same press conference that “residents and businesses look to the Toronto public service in their time of need and we need to be there to support and serve them.”

Pegg added that the city “is working through processes to ensure that we have the right balance of employees to service the public in the workplace, while recognizing that we too need to practise social distancing as recommended by Toronto Public Health.”

But at this point, Pegg said, they’re asking employees who are not sick, who have not recently returned from travel and who do not need to self isolate “to continue to report for work.”

City spokesperson Brad Ross told the Star in an email that some employees were able to work remotely on Monday. City Hall, Metro Hall and civic centres, where thousands of employees work daily, remain open.

Dave Mitchell, president of CUPE Local 79, which represents more than 20,000 inside workers, said in a statement Monday there were several concerns, including that members with laptops who could safely work from home were not being given the option to do so.

 “While confronting a pandemic, the city should be limiting the need for its employees to commute to work if it isn’t necessary,” his statement said. “Asking workers to come to work when it is not necessary is not following in the spirit of social distancing and direction from all levels of government.”

Mitchell said they are in constant contact with the city and working towards a solution.