The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) is a union representing 80,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, tax and other professionals. As a professional union, PIPSC focuses on member specific work issues and tends to ignore the issues faced by our wider communities and society.
International, political and other solidarity issues that do not immediately and directly impact PIPSC members are overlooked, yet these issues are central to the larger labour movement. While PIPSC has transitioned from a professional association to a union, PIPSC still separates itself from the labour movement.
A brief history of PIPSC
PIPSC started as an association, concerned with the interests of “professionals” and aimed to collaborate with government. This approach differed from the confrontation forced on many other unions that challenged corporate greed in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. PIPSC did not see alignment nor seek solidarity with other workers. However, the post-war boom and the rise of public sector worker militancy led to the passage of the 1967 Public Service Staff Relations Act which legislated collective bargaining for federal staff. PIPSC adapted to the new system.
The evolution from a professional association to a union was mainly externally imposed versus initiated from within, as PIPSC could not rely on government benevolence to negotiate wages and benefits. But that evolution remains incomplete.
PIPSC’s unusual origin may explain why it’s often on the sidelines of solidarity struggles. PIPSC said little as other unions campaigned for nuclear disarmament in the 1960s. Since the 1970s, PIPSC has struggled to reflect younger members rallying for a more assertive union. In a shameful episode – echoed by current events, explained later in this article – PIPSC stayed silent while other unions pushed to divest from apartheid South Africa in the 1980s.
Yet there have been times when PIPSC showed potential for solidarity:
- In 1991, the computer science group stopped electronic processing of tax returns, in solidarity with striking Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) staff. This small act shows the potential for scale by PIPSC members.
- In 1993, PIPSC denounced the Conservative government’s cuts to programs and privatization of crown corporations.
- In 2012, Harper’s cuts included an assault on public service autonomy. In response, PIPSC commissioned “The Big Chill”, a report about muzzling scientists and researchers. That report established that nearly one quarter were forced to alter scientific conclusions for non-scientific reasons.
- During the Harper era budget cuts, PIPSC also began collaboration with the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), leveraging the support of 3.3 million workers.
Carney’s attacks
Today Mark Carney’s privatization bonanza rivals previous Conservative policies. The impacts are vast: a 2025 PIPSC report shows the return of interference with research conclusions. The Liberal government actively seeks to remove scientific integrity from our collective agreements. Currently, the Treasury Board Secretariat is making this regressive demand during bargaining with federal scientists.
Canada’s scientific infrastructure is threatened as Carney unveils new austerity measures. In December 2025, the government announced extensive layoffs under the Workforce Adjustment (WFA) process. WFA ostensibly allows the government to reassign staff towards new priorities. We would hope for a reallocation of federal resources to urgent crises such as housing and climate change. In that scenario, federal workers would embrace new roles, as many joined the public service hoping to materially improve collective wellbeing. In practice, the government uses WFA to cut public services and decent jobs, demoralizing employees. Under Prime Minister Carney, these latest cuts have been deeper than any in the 21st century. More cuts are imminent.
Equally distressing, the Liberal government is simultaneously expanding Canada’s military industrial complex. Defence spending is set to skyrocket and public money is earmarked for fossil fuel mega projects. Departments such as Health, Fisheries and Oceans, Environment, Agriculture face cuts, using the WFA to funnel these workers to defence.
The clamp down on remote work has been a significant blow to morale. The government had committed publicly to maintaining a hybrid model, with the Treasury Board Secretariat proclaiming in June 2021 that remote work was “here to stay”. Federal workers and employers viewed the cost savings and improved work-life balance as a straightforward win-win: public servants worked effectively and remotely throughout the pandemic. Given this new standard for a modern public service, leases were allowed to lapse as government moved to shrink its office footprint. As a result,the enforced shift to four days or more in-office is not viable. Key departments lack desks for their employees, and those with space often force staff into environments that are not fit for purpose, and in some cases unsafe.
On the surface, the change of heart on remote work seems confusing. It’s an irrational choice for a fiscally responsible government given savings associated with working remotely. But the government’s motivation has potentially been revealed and if true, its reasons are chilling. The Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) has uncovered that the reversal is likely driven by the financial entanglements of Canada’s big banks and asset managers with commercial real estate.
This battle between federal public servants and government may seem like an isolated issue for a subset of relatively privileged workers. In truth, this is a misinformation tactic to deflect from the decimation of public science, which impacts everyone. This should concern the entire labour movement and the broader public. It is also part of an anti-union agenda pursued by Carney to curb the influence and power of workers. Bill C-39 gives the federal government broad powers to strip away the right to strike and is just the latest in a series of such attacks.
Grassroots action
Sadly PIPSC has not learned from its failure to oppose apartheid in South Africa. Today, our government denies the genocide in Palestine and our investments remain complicit in weapons companies used to surveil and commit atrocities on oppressed people. Yet, PIPSC is still silent.
Some of us believe PIPSC can be a greater force for good in our workplaces and in our world. We found each other and began organizing as an unofficial caucus of “PIPSC Members for Palestine”. We were connected through our involvement in Labour for Palestine. Our first meeting had about five people, and none of us was sure what to do. But we kept meeting and bouncing ideas off one another.
Slowly we grew, through word of mouth and seeking out like-minded PIPSC members at union and local progressive events. We considered formalising as an official caucus but were discouraged by the bureaucratic and hierarchical structure.
We were aware that merely caring about politics made us controversial in this union. Ultimately, we embraced our independence from any institution. With no formal structure, we are the sole driving force for everything we do. Ironically, with little support from our own union, we feel a stronger sense of ownership over our caucus.
We are as grassroots as grassroots can be. We started with little to no experience and learned as we went, trying things out and drawing inspiration from actions of others around us. This experience has also taught us the importance of being engaged in local activism rather than relying solely on union spaces to find new comrades. It reminds us of an era when labour organizing was more grassroots and involved everyone in the community.
PIPSC4P at the 2025 AGM and beyond
One of our early initiatives involved organizing around the 2025 PIPSC Annual General Meeting (AGM). Experienced members of our caucus suggested submitting a resolution in solidarity with Palestine. This allowed us to publicize the union’s inadequate stance towards Palestine to all attendees.
By publicly demanding concrete action from the union, more members could learn of and join our caucus. More still could consider PIPSC’s role within the context of labour solidarity. We hoped the resolution would prompt like-minded delegates to engage with members of our group in person.
Our resolution P25 on Palestine focused on how PIPSC could reasonably align with the global BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement. We raised awareness of PIPSC’s responsibility in the struggle for Palestinian liberation and educated members on actions realistically within PIPSC power. We spoke to PIPSC members’ responsibility as professionals – making a moral case for solidarity with Palestine and using evidence of genocide brought by legal experts to official international bodies.
Informed by our experience at past PIPSC AGMs, we were under no illusion that our resolution would even see the floor. So our main goal was to engage members, which we did by securing a table alongside formally recognized PIPSC committees at the AGM venue. Besides asking members to support resolutions P25 and another P23 on solidarity with exploited workers in DR Congo, we also sought signatures on a petition demanding action from the Board of Directors. Some board members were unhappy with our efforts and a few AGM delegates tried to shut us down, claiming our materials made them feel “unsafe”. But we received encouragement from many, many other delegates, who connected with us for the first time at the AGM.
We plan to revisit these issues at the 2026 AGM and have once again submitted resolutions. We continue our efforts, although this year PIPSC did not approve either our request for an AGM table nor display of our flyer. While others, like the CLC, move forward, PIPSC turns to bureaucratic means to block our voices.
The struggle continues
PIPSC’s leverage is directly linked to the integrity of science conducted in the public service. Canada relies on federal scientists for services, information, and policy direction on important issues including public health and the environment. This means everyone in Canada is affected by deteriorating working conditions for PIPSC members. Conversely, PIPSC members have a duty to members of the public. Given the global impacts of science, PIPSC responsibility is not bound by national borders, but extends to all peoples and life on this planet.
Not only is this the principled approach, it’s also practical. Corporations are global and their race to the bottom attracts them to locations with the lowest wages and worst working conditions. As long as there are places where workers face precarity, workers everywhere are in jeopardy.
PIPSC’s elected officers recognize members lack interest in participating in committees, stewardship roles, and organizing rallies or events, without acknowledging that PIPSC has fostered a culture that makes members feel apathetic and alienated from their own union. This keeps PIPSC irrelevant and powerless in the hands of a repressive employer. After all, we have power in numbers.
But there’s a solution: PIPSC can mobilize members by more assertively challenging Carney’s austerity agenda. PIPSC can choose solidarity with other labour organizations and movements, nationally and internationally. PIPSC needs to speak out against private investment in national infrastructure projects, and public investment in private corporations including the harms being done to Indigenous communities and our environment.
A first step is more focus on member-led initiatives that challenge government policy. A second step is absolute transparency and easy access to the AGM, and not just for recognized committees.
PIPSC has a diverse membership of more than 34 occupational groups, offering a vast array of options for mobilization. This is one of PIPSC’s greatest strengths and represents creativity with which we can fight for our rights. Rank and file members are best placed to understand worker needs. We need union executives who support members on the ground to connect and organize job actions.
CAPE’s activist members were able to organize a successful campaign to elect a progressive Board of Directors. This success inspires many of us in PIPSC. We want to empower regular members to get involved, join a caucus, become a steward, support their co-workers and ultimately, activate the Board.
Let’s help PIPSC embrace the labour movement.
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