OTTAWA—Employees of members of Parliament face a lifetime ban on revealing information about their work under a sweeping new “loyalty” agreement imposed by the House of Commons.

But the union representing staff working for the New Democrats fears the agreement will have a chilling effect on employees who want to blow the whistle on office wrongdoing.

The agreement, obtained by the Star, says the “politically sensitive and partisan environment” requires “utmost trust.”

“That information to which I may become privy in the course of my employment relating to the activities and work of my employer is politically sensitive and confidential and that I will not divulge such information except as may be required by law,” says the agreement.

The eight-point agreement sets out conditions to avoid conflict of interest, disclose gifts and payments by third parties, and steer clear of activity or business that might reflect “unfavourably” on an MP or the Commons.

But it’s the lifetime gag order — and possible punishments for breaching that ban — that has many employees worried.

“The way it reads to me is that someone overreacted somewhere in the system and just wanted to gag all current and future employees from ever possibly saying anything that might remotely be seen as offensive,” said Anthony Salloum of Unifor Local 232, which represents NDP employees on the Hill.

“It feels so heavy-handed . . . . Why now and why so severe?” he told the Star in an interview.

Breach of the agreement is grounds for dismissal. And the agreement claims to “survive” the termination of employment.

If an employee breaches it after leaving Parliament Hill, he or she would be required to repay any termination pay, the agreement says.

It also says the ex-employee could be subject to “any other legal or administrative recourse available” to an MP or the House of Commons.

Salloum acknowledged that many workplaces have some confidentiality agreement but said “but this one, in our opinion, just went really, really too far with its implied perpetuity and vague reference to unspecified legal consequences.

“That scares us,” he said.

The agreement, first reported by CBC News, was quietly approved in March by the all-party board of internal economy, which oversees the budgets and operations of MPs’ offices.

The minutes for that meeting contain just a vague reference to the “modernization of employment and salary policies for employees of Members, House Officers and National Caucus Research Offices.”

But the actual agreement came to light only recently when unionized NDP staff were required to sign the secrecy pacts before they got a pay raise scheduled for Dec. 1.

“Hundreds all got it at the same time,” Salloum said, adding that the union is seeking legal advice.

Conservative MP John Duncan and NDP MP Nycole Turmel are the designated spokespeople for decisions of the board of internal economy. Neither could be reached for comment Wednesday.

However, the change was billed as a “modernization” of employment policies on Parliament Hill that had previously been ad hoc and dealt with by individual MPs.

In a bulletin to MPs, Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer says the eight-point agreement must be signed by all new employees on the Hill when they are hired and current employees are required to sign it before getting a pay raise after April 1, 2013.

The muzzling order comes as Senate staff have raised concerns about the conduct of the senators they work for. In August 2012, a former assistant to Sen. Pamela Wallin wrote another senator about Wallin’s “irregular” expense claims. Wallin has since been suspended from the senate over travel expenses that were deemed inappropriate.

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More recently, Sen. Colin Kenny left the Liberal caucus after a former employee went public with complaints that she had been harassed in his office.

While these new rules apply only to the Commons, not the Senate, Salloum fears muzzled employees will be reluctant to speak out about misspending or improper conduct.

“It would definitely have a chilling effect,” he said.