Federal Government Scientists Seek to Impose Collective Bargaining

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Federal government scientists have amplified their position in the ongoing dispute with the Harper government over the growing cuts to federal science programs, along with their suppressing of federal government scientists, by bringing their concerns directly to the bargaining table. The union representing federal government scientists, Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), is anticipated to present a proposal this week that aims to obligate the government to negotiate scientific integrity policies, while also safeguarding public standards of science and support for science.

President of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC), Debi Daviau, stated that “preserving scientific integrity within the federal government is crucial to ensure we can continue to protect Canadians’ health, safety and the environment as well as promote genuine innovation.” PIPSC represents approximately 15,000 federal government scientists, engineers and researchers. The union mentioned that “to our members, this is about much more than their salaries; it’s about preserving the standards on which both Canadian public policy and public services are maintained.”

Furthermore, expressing his remarks, Daviau stated that “it’s sad, frankly, that it’s come to this,” and added that “negotiating provisions in our collective agreements seems to be the only way to get this government’s attention and adopt meaningful, enforceable scientific integrity standards. At least this way our members would have the chance to grieve violations of standards they argue are essential to maintaining adequate public science services.”