02-07-2025
CRPEG and CNL reach tentative agreement, strike action suspended
Nuclear scientists and engineers secure gains after historic five-day strike
CHALK RIVER, ON, July 2, 2025 /CNW/ - The Chalk River Professional Employee Group (CRPEG)—represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)—has reached a tentative agreement with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), bringing the historic labour dispute to a potential resolution.
The tentative agreement was reached Friday, June 27, at approximately 3:30 PM. Strike action has been suspended pending a ratification vote by CRPEG's 800+ nuclear scientists and engineers, tentatively scheduled for July 8, 2025. The CRPEG bargaining team will recommend ratification of the tentative agreement.
"Our members stood together and showed the power of organized labour," said CRPEG President Jonathan Fitzpatrick. "This tentative agreement demonstrates what workers can achieve when they unite for fair treatment and recognition of their professional value."
The tentative agreement includes meaningful improvements over CNL's previous offers, including:
$2 million one-time increase to the company-wide benefits program (up from $1.75 million), benefiting all CNL employees
$1,700 lump sum payment to all CRPEG members
10.5% salary increases over three years with improved distribution (4.0% in 2024, 4.0% in 2025, and 2.5% in 2026)
The five-day selective strike marked the first PIPSC strike action in over 30 years and had a significant operational impact on CNL, affecting tritium facility operations, reactor surveillance work, commercial projects, and regulatory compliance functions.
The strike demonstrated the critical importance of CRPEG members' work in ensuring nuclear reactor safety, managing radioactive waste, and conducting nuclear medicine research that serves all Canadians.
While vacation leave has been reinstated, PIPSC's unfair labour practice complaint regarding CNL's retaliatory cancellation of pre-approved vacation continues to move forward through the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
"Despite facing surveillance intimidation tactics and cancellation of vacation leave, CRPEG members stayed strong and professional," said PIPSC President Sean O'Reilly.
The tentative agreement follows 17 months of negotiations that began when the previous collective agreement expired on December 31, 2023. CRPEG members commenced strike action on May 26, 2025, after declaring an impasse in negotiations. They resumed strike action on June 23, after rejecting a settlement offer from CNL.
