By now it is trite to say that the COVID-19 pandemic has upended many aspects of daily life — but nowhere is this statement more true than in public sector workplaces. With health and safety measures, new technologies, and remote work, the pandemic has caused a seismic shift in the world of work. Moreover, it has alerted us to the need to be prepared for future crises. What policies, practices, and collective agreement provisions are necessary to respond to these changes? In this session, expert negotiators will address this question, as well as the following, more specific concerns:

• How has the pandemic affected labour relations in the broader public sector? Has responding to numerous rapid changes fostered trust and skills that can facilitate increased cooperation or even joint decision-making, or have disagreements arising from pandemic responses poisoned union–management relations?

• Coming out of the pandemic, are workplace parties better prepared to handle emergencies or other dramatic changes affecting broader public sector workplaces, or are new procedures or contract provisions necessary to prepare for future crises?

• How has employment in the broader public sector been altered by the pandemic? Will these changes be permanent?

• Has the COVID-19 pandemic been an impetus for public sector employers to increase automation? Will technology-enabled gig work proliferate in public services?

• Have new technologies become pervasive enough to necessitate including provisions in collective agreements? How should employee privacy rights be protected in collective agreement provisions?

• To what extent are work-from-home arrangements and flexibility in hours and locations of work likely to continue following the pandemic? Are parties negotiating collective agreement language to deal with a "new reality" in public sector workplaces?

• Should workplaces permanently adopt certain health and safety policies and practices developed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. new standards for personal protective equipment, sick leave provisions)? Are new approaches to psychological health and safety necessary to respond to the pandemic's effect on mental health and workplace attachment/engagement?

• Will the precarity that was revealed in many sectors prompt a desire to limit the use of part-time/precarious workers? Has experience during the pandemic given employers and unions a shared interest in negotiating improved working conditions and prioritizing full-time employment?