Your voice at the table
Many members know their steward, but fewer know how workplace issues move from individual concerns to discussions with senior management.
PIPSC’s consultation network connects members, stewards, consultation teams, and national union representatives across the country. Through this structure, concerns raised by members can be identified, assessed, and brought forward to departmental leadership.
Consultation is not just about responding to problems after they occur. It is about identifying risks early, improving workplaces, and helping create better outcomes for employees before issues escalate.
That is why member engagement matters.
Whether your concerns relate to workforce adjustment, scientific integrity, occupational health and safety, career development, workload, workplace modernization, classification other issues affecting your work, your Consultation Team can only raise the issues it knows about.
Strategic planning for 2026-2027
This spring, the NRCan Consultation Team completed a strategic planning exercise to strengthen how we represent members across Canada.
The team identified 4 priorities for the coming year:
- Strengthening the consultation team and steward network
- Improving member engagement and outreach
- Enhancing communication with members
- Advancing key workplace issues, including Work Force Adjustment (WFA), Occupational Health and Safety, Scientific Integrity, Career Development, Essential Services, and Classification.
Our goal is straightforward: to build stronger connections between members, stewards, consultation representatives, and decision-makers so that workplace concerns can be identified earlier and addressed more effectively.
Key issues raised by your Consultation Team
Your Consultation Team continues to meet regularly with NRCan management through formal labor-management consultation tables and the Work Force Adjustment Committee.
Over the past several months, the Team has raised and monitored a number of important issues, including:
- WFA implementation, including alternation processes, transparency, and the application of workforce adjustment provisions;
- Employee wellness, workload pressures, and the impact of organizational changes on remaining employees;
- The collection and use of workplace attendance and office presence data, including questions related to privacy, transparency, and the purpose of monitoring activities;
- Departmental policies and directives affecting employees, including concerns related to duty of loyalty, scientific integrity, and employee rights and responsibilities; and
- The impact of workplace modernization initiatives and evolving workplace practices on employees across the Department.
Many of these discussions originated from concerns raised by members and stewards across NRCan. In several cases, the NRCan Consultation Team has taken the lead in identifying emerging issues, gathering information, raising concerns with management, and seeking practical solutions before problems become more significant.
Work Force Adjustment (WFA) Update
WFA remains a significant issue across the federal public service and within NRCan.
Your Consultation Team continues to participate actively in the Departmental WFA committee. We are monitoring implementation, tracking emerging trends, raising member concerns, and advocating for fair, transparent, and respectful processes.
We are also working to ensure that the broader impacts of Work Force Adjustment, including workload, employee well-being, retention of expertise, and organizational sustainability, remain part of the conversation.
Members can stay informed through NRCan’s Work Force Adjustment Dashboard and related resources maintained by Human Resources. These tools provide information on departmental progress, frequently asked questions, available support measures, and workforce adjustment processes.
In addition, your Consultation Team has developed, maintains, and regularly updates NRCan-specific Work Force Adjustment resources in one centralized location, including:
These valuable tools are accessible to members using your PIPSC email address.
Monthly Labour-Management Consultation
In addition to participating in WFA committee, your Consultation Team meets regularly with senior management every 6 weeks through the Department’s Labour-Management Consultation Meeting.
Recent discussions have included:
- The transition of the Office of Energy Efficiency (OEE) to Environment and Climate Change Canada and the potential impacts on employees, including commuting, language requirements, support services, and workforce planning;
- The Department’s pilot project on monitoring in-office presence and the planned rollout of related tools and reporting;
- The ongoing development of NRCan’s duty of loyalty guidance and the need for transparency and employee engagement as this work progresses;
- Return to Office implementation, including workplace accommodations and office space planning;
- Questions regarding staffing and external hiring during Work Force Adjustment; and
- Employee wellness, official languages, professional development, and organizational changes resulting from the Comprehensive Expenditure Review.
Your Consultation Team also continues to emphasize that effective consultation requires more than information sharing. We regularly advocate for meaningful dialogue, timely responses to union concerns, and opportunities for employee input before decisions are finalized.
Intellectual property and copyright concerns
Intellectual property and copyright remain ongoing concerns for many NRCan researchers and scientists.
Current concerns include publication delays related to intellectual property agreements, particularly with Springer Nature. For example, the average time to execute a Licence to Publish (LTP) agreement with Springer Nature is approximately 38 days, which is roughly twice the average duration of the rest of the review process.
If you have experienced publication delays related to Licence to Publish execution, please contact us. Real examples help us identify recurring issues and strengthen our discussions with management as we advocate for clearer, more consistent guidance.
Professional development for SE-RES
The Department has recently developed a guidance document with criteria for NRCan’s SE-RES Scientists’ participation in conference and professional development.
This is a key provision in the RE Collective Agreement. Your NRCan NCT has worked closely with the Employer and provided input and support to refine these criteria and enhance clarity and consistency in decision-making related to career development activities.
Despite being consulted, topics such as the definition of Operational requirement (which included budgetary constraints according to the employer) and the mention of undefined travel caps remained unresolved.
The official document has been published by the Department on the Source.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
PIPSC Stewards continue to play a significant role in Departmental Occupational Health and Safety (DOHS). PIPSC currently holds two seats on the National Policy Committee. This work is supported through the National Consultation Team, which helps connect local OHS committees, the policy committee, members, and management.
Consultation is central to this network. Strong communication between members, stewards, OHS representatives, and management helps create safer workplaces for all employees. Recent areas of focus for the Policy Committee on Occupational Health and Safety (PCOHS) include:
- Chemical Management;
- Senior Building Officer OHS Guide; and
- Updates to departmental directives, including the recent directive on scents in the workplace.
If you have any questions or concerns relating to health and safety, please reach out to your local workplace OHS committee. You can find a list of committees and representatives here:
WPHSC Contact Lists – Liste des contacts CLSST
Additional information is also available through:
Stay connected
Consultation is strongest when members are engaged.
Do not wait for a crisis to get involved. Talk to your steward. Attend union events. Share workplace concerns, ideas, and opportunities for improvement. Many of the issues currently being discussed with management began with a conversation between a member and a steward.
Not every issue requires a grievance or formal complaint. Many workplace concerns can be raised through consultation, helping identify risks and opportunities for improvement before problems become more serious.
Whether you have a workplace concern, an idea for improvement, or simply want to learn more about how PIPSC represents members at NRCan, we encourage you to connect with your Steward or a member of the NRCan Consultation Team.
Meet your NRCan Consultation Team and learn more about consultation at NRCan
Behind every consultation issue is a member, a steward, and often a conversation that started at the local level.
The NRCan Consultation Team is made up of volunteers from across Canada who work with stewards, branches, and members to bring workplace issues forward, identify emerging concerns, and advocate for positive change.
We encourage you to get to know your representatives and reach out whenever you have questions, concerns, or ideas to share.
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