KAWARTHA LAKES-Kawartha 411 News has learned that hundreds of City of Kawartha Lakes staff are working from home or on Alternate Work Arrangements and at least one doesn’t live in Canada.
Our sources say City Solicitor Robyn Carlson moved to Nicaragua during the pandemic and has not been to her office at City Hall for at least two years. The City told Kawartha 411 News it could not comment.
“We are unable to comment on specific personal work agreements with employees.”
We contacted Carlson directly via email who did not answer questions pertaining to when she was last in the office or if she lived in Canada. She did not dispute the information from our sources.
“Communications advised me that they had already responded to your questions.” Carlson said.
When asked what safeguards are in place to protect sensitive legal information involving City business while working remotely from another country officials stated they use a Virtual Private Network.
“An alternate work location is a secure space, where the employee has control over the confidentiality and security of all work materials and City property and it is not a commercial or public establishment. The City utilizes Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology to ensure that all electronic communication (eg. email, Internet phone, Zoom, etc.) that takes place between remote users and the City’s network is protected. This protection encrypts these communications ensuring that they cannot be intercepted by third parties, regardless of the location of the remote user.”
However, some experts say although a VPN can protect your privacy, it is not a fail-safe way to prevent a security breach.
“Viruses are often used to steal information, damaging your computer. As long as your device cannot identify, block or remove dangerous viruses, it is needlessly vulnerable. Fortunately, there are some antivirus platforms that also provide VPN services.” said Forbes Magazine.
It is unclear who pays for the added measures.
The City says it currently has more than 200 staff working from home or on something called Alternate Work Arrangements. The exact number was not provided.
“To address the need for remote work following the pandemic, last year the municipality put in place an Alternate Work Arrangement (AWA) Management Directive to support services and staff. The AWA Management Directive outlines a permanent work option for staff eligible to perform their job outside of the traditional workplace. It is inclusive of all workplaces, not just the home, to meet the diverse needs of our services and staff.” the City told Kawartha 411 News.
The time spent working in an alternate arrangement varies from one to five days a week, depending on the role and service requirements according to the City. AWAs are typically for a period of one year with an option to renew. It is reviewed at least annually to ensure the arrangement remains suitable for the role.
City officials say having so many staff out of the office doesn’t negatively impact customer service.
“The municipality has a wide variety of locations and buildings across Kawartha Lakes, with many employees and teams working in different spaces. Through the AWA, staff now have access to resources and tools for further connection and collaboration to perform their jobs better and improve services.” said the City
When asked how they measure work output to ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars the City said it uses a number of ways to measure but did not provide examples.
Many other municipalities allow remote or hybrid working arrangements.
The City of Peterborough’s policy states: “It is not the intent that Remote Working Arrangements (RWA’s) be permanent or full-time, but rather it is the expectation that a regular presence in the office is still maintained, even for those positions the City designates suitable for remote work. What is considered a “regular presence” in the office may vary by Division and position”.
The City of Toronto allows it but the staff member must remain a reasonable distance from City Hall.
“An employee’s remote work location must be within a reasonable distance of their regularly assigned City work location, as determined by operational requirements, and within Ontario.” says the website.
The City of Oakville has a similar policy and requires weekly office attendance.
“The town may assign specific jobs and/or positions to be appropriate for remote work. In addition, the town will permit, where feasible, eligible employees to apply to work remotely and to support their remote team members in a safe, productive and inclusive manner as applicable and agreed to by their department. It is not the intent that remote work arrangements be permanent or full-time, but rather it is the expectation that a regular presence in the office is still maintained, even for those positions the town designates for remote work. What is considered a “regular presence” in the office may vary by department and position, however, the employee must be on-site a minimum of one to three days per week. Consideration may be given to remote work arrangements alternating weeks to maximize team collaboration and communications.” says the Policy.
Federal government employees are currently on strike asking for a raise and the ability to continue working solely from home or remotely. The feds recently ordered staff back to the office for at least two days a week.
