City of Lethbridge forcing remote workers into office

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Lethbridge mandated that those employed by the municipality work from home. For most of that time, this mandate paralleled public health protections implemented by the provincial government, which lasted for about 13 months.

The provincial government removed the public health protections in the first half of 2021; although the City of Lethbridge continued they work from home mandate.

When the municipal work from home mandate ended in March 2022, some workers continued working from home.

As of June 2025, about 95% of workers employed by the City of Lethbridge were back to on-site working arrangements, which means about 5% were still working remotely.

Last week, the City of Lethbridge administration sent out an internal memo to municipal workers saying that they planned to ban remote work by 2026.

The memo, which I have included in a screenshot at the end of this story, states that they are actually terminating the remote work programme immediately but providing a 6-month transition period, since they “understand” that the programme was “effective for some individuals and this change will be an adjustment”.

City of Lethbridge administration cowardly hid behind the passive voice in the first sentence to avoid assigning responsibility to one person or group of persons.

They said, “the operational decision has been made”; however, that decision was not made all on its own. Someone decided it.

Their rationale are that having everyone working in person will “enhanc[e] service delivery, collaboration, fairness and professional growth”.

Even though the vast majority (again, 95%) of their workers are already working in person, the City of Lethbridge is somehow providing “diminished” service delivery, collaboration, fairness and professional growth.

The memo also stated that “in-person work ensures we meet the high standards of accessibility, responsiveness and consistency that residents expect from their local government”, implying that letting just 5% of their workers work remotely is hampering the city’s ability to meet those high standards.

Somehow a worker filling out spreadsheets at home instead of filling out spreadsheets at City Hall hinders the city from being as accessible, responsive, and consistent as “residents expect”.

I wonder if it is merely coincidental that the City of Lethbridge did not quantify what level of service delivery they are providing now with 95% of their workforce and how much that quantity will change with the 5% being brought on board.

Update (4 July 2025): In a statement sent to The Alberta Worker, Susan Gouw (the president of Local 70 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees) said that the union representing these workers is disappointed in the City of Lethbridge’s decision, calling it “unnecessary and short-sighted” and indicating that the top-down decision was made without consulting the workers or the union.

Over the past few years, our members have shown that remote work can be just as effective as working in the office. Productivity has remained high, services continued to run smoothly, and employees were able to do their jobs without issue. There’s no evidence that work-from-home was a problem, so it’s unclear why this change was needed.

Flexible work arrangements are an important part of creating a modern, respectful workplace. They help with work-life balance, mental health, and employee retention. Taking that away without a clear reason feels like a step backwards.

If there were concerns, the City should have consulted with employees and our union to find solutions. Blanket decisions like this don’t reflect the realities of different roles, and they ignore the benefits that flexible work brings to both workers and the employer.

We’ll be watching closely to see how this decision impacts our members, and we’ll continue to advocate for fair, flexible, and respectful working conditions at the City of Lethbridge.