OTTAWA — Public Services and Procurement Canada has not answered repeated questions about whether there will be enough office space as unions and workers warn there isn’t enough office space to accommodate the federal government’s new requirements for in-office work.

At the moment, most public servants are expected to be in the office three days per week and executives are expected to attend the office four days per week, with the remaining days being worked remotely.

But executives will be required to be in the office full-time starting in May, and the federal government says other public servants must be in the office at least four days a week starting in July.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has said there is already a shortage of federal office space and warns “the chaos will only get worse” as workers’ in-office time increases.

Since 2020, when remote work began during COVID-19, the public service has grown by more than 57,000 workers, an increase of almost 20 per cent. Some of those workers have never worked full-time in the office.

At the same time, Ottawa has been trying to off-load office space.

Budget 2024 committed Public Services and Procurement Canada to reducing its stock of office space by 50 per cent over 10 years through sales or leases.

The department said that target will be adjusted to reflect the fact that public servants will be spending more time in the office.

“Planning in this regard is underway,” said Public Services and Procurement Canada spokesperson Nicole Allen.

Sylvain Routier, a federal public servant living in the Ottawa area, told The Canadian Press booking desk space is already a struggle under the current rules and workers need to sign up a month in advance.

“There’s only so many spots for so many employees. There’s always going to be people who are left out,” he said.

Routier said existing issues with space make the return-to-office policy “much more confusing.”

“If there’s no space, I go home and I work from home,” he said. “It’s going to get worse.”

Nathan Prier, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees, said several departments still haven’t implemented the current remote work rules due to a lack of space. He said he’s skeptical of the government’s chances of successfully implementing the new rules.

Several unions have issued warnings about the state of federal buildings. Some have cited the presence of pests and have argued that many spaces are in poor condition.