By: Lucaiah Smith-Miodownik, News Writer
For Vancouver city employees, pyjama bottoms at work may no longer be feasible.
CTV News reported that on October 21, workers received an email from city manager Donny van Dyk informing them that “effective January 1, 2026, all exempt staff will return to a city office site five days a week.” The same applies to non-unionized city workers. Exempt staff are not covered under the Employment Standards Act and are generally paid a salary rather than an hourly wage.
Additionally, unionized city employees will be required to work “a minimum of three days in-office each week” come the new year. This announcement originally came in May, but delayed the change until next year due to a grievance filed by CUPE 15 “in connection with the notice and transition period,” reported the Vancouver Sun. CUPE 15 represents indoor Vancouver city workers.
This order is a stark contrast to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Vancouver implemented the flexible work program, allowing employees “to work remotely between one to four days per week, depending on their department and position.”
Mayor Ken Sim “believes this approach will lead to greater efficiency and productive outcomes — particularly over the busy year ahead,” reported Daily Hive. A city spokesperson told Postmedia News that “the city has not observed a decline in productivity with hybrid work.”
In an open letter to the City and Parks members, CUPE 15 highlighted “the toll this takes on families and work-life balance; challenges securing appropriate childcare and its cost; health concerns for many who will now have to crowd onto transit and into tight office spaces; climate impacts; as well as several other personal and practical implications, such as impacts to recruitment and retention.”
Some believe, however, that these consequences are by design.
“The general feeling is that this is being done as a strategy to get rid of people,”
— Vancouver city employee
With the city “in cost-cutting mode ahead of the 2026 budget,” some see the in-office mandates as a “backdoor method” to “reduce the workforce.” One study reviewed such requirements in technology and finance firms and found this approach leads to “abnormally high employee turnover.”
The City responded to concerns by stating, “We understand this is a significant change for some and that life requires flexibility. While the model may not suit everyone, we’re facing important challenges that require us to work together. ”
Regardless of whether Vancouver aims to make workers quit, some believe budget cuts are a near guarantee. The 2026 city budget includes a 0% property tax increase, a motion called for by Sim heading into a mayoral election year. Sim’s move comes despite reports from city staff “that maintaining existing service levels would require a roughly 7% property tax for next year, factoring in wage increase, inflation, and other factors,” reported the Vancouver Sun. Without money from a property tax increase, the budget will require “huge cuts to Vancouver’s public services,” said the Coalition of Progressive Electors through Instagram. In October, the Vancouver Sun reported that “some non-union employees have already been laid off in recent months, and potentially hundreds of additional job cuts could be ahead.”
In a virtual all-staff meeting on October 16, van Dyk also explained that the City plans to seek out “incentives for departure from the organization,” and “would look at offering early retirement” as well.
