Employees at NIHERST are Fed up! Lack of health and safety protocols must be addressed.

Members of staff at the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) have had it. After ongoing complaints fell on deaf ears for far too long, PSA members employed at NIHERST expressed their grievances regarding the lack of health and safety protocols.

According to the PSA members, they had expressed their concerns too many times to management, however, the only response they got from their superiors is: “ They are working on it”, to which nothing is done after.

Via a phone interview with PSA Media, the members gave an example of ventilation issues they had, where the central air conditioning unit at the National Science Centre, has not been working for over a year. They stated that it’s been an ongoing issue as the heat workers are forced to work in is unbearable.

Sources stated that if there were events, the air condition would be put on for guests but employees, it was left off. They stated that many times they would have to leave the front door of the Centre open to get fresh air, as many areas were without windows. When asked about the provision of fans, the members stated that there were a few fans that were never cleaned. They also suggested that an employee would have suffered from a seizure earlier this year because of the heated working conditions.

Members also highlighted questionable HR practices that allowed for some employees to work from home for more than a year, yet when others requested remote work, it had been denied. They said that management continued to breach collective agreements and engage employees without the Union.