OTTAWA, March 31, 2025 – The Chalk River Professional Employees Group (CRPEG), represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) will be in a legal strike position at 12:01 AM on May 14, 2025.
“We have been without a collective agreement since January 2024 and our nuclear scientists and engineers are running out of patience," said CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick. “They have given us the strongest mandate for job action – including a strike – in the history of the Group. Our members deserve fair pay and we are prepared to walk off the job site if that’s what it takes.”
The option of job action remains on the table as the professionals working at the Chalk River campus are considering their options while they prepare for conciliation with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL) to resolve a year-long impasse over fair pay, job outsourcing, and working conditions.
"Today, more than ever, we stand united in our commitment to securing fair pay, enhancing working conditions, and protecting our professional work from outsourcing. Fair wages are the foundation for attracting and retaining the highly skilled professionals essential for the Company to consistently deliver top-tier services," stated Mr. Fitzpatrick.
The bargaining team is entering conciliation from April 1 to 3, 2025, with the intent of reaching a negotiated agreement –without a work stoppage– that recognizes the professional work of CRPEG’s nuclear scientists and engineers.
“We kept CNL strong during ongoing energy and trade challenges. In return, when the increase in the cost of living is high, what the company is offering is effectively a rollback in wages,” CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick concluded.
The bargaining team is disappointed with the company’s last offer; an offer which prompted the Union to declare impasse on February 6, 2025 and request support from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
PIPSC president, Sean O’Reilly, stated that the union's 75,000 professionals across Canada’s public sector, fully support the 800 scientists and engineers at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Chalk River campus.
CRPEG members ensure the safe operation of nuclear reactors, and support safe radioactive waste management and environmental remediation projects across Canada. CRPEG members contribute to the health of Canadians through research on nuclear medicine.
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Media contact: Johanne Fillion, 613-883-4900 (mobile), jfillion@pipsc.ca