Getting back to some type of normalcy as the world battles the covid19 pandemic requires vaccination, according to the medical experts both at home and internationally.
Trinidad and Tobago as of Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Health indicated, has fully vaccinated 142,875 people while 226,939 people have received their first jab and were awaiting the second. The shipment of 800,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China on Tuesday was another step towards attaining herd immunity.
As businesses reopen and employees return to the workplace, many people remain concerned about the requirements to continue employment, and the mechanisms in place to treat with the unvaccinated and vaccinated. Will vaccines become a requirement and is it enforceable?
Business Day spoke with Labour Minister Stephen McClashie who said the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) will present a report on the issue on Monday.
He was unable to give exact details of the report but previously said the report would ensure employees' and employers' rights were maintained in the pandemic, including workers who are not currently covered by the Industrial Relations Act and other employment legislation.
“The committee has also developed guidelines on remote working and is underway in providing practical guidance on matters of vaccination in the workplace and managing crises to ensure that the rights of workers are maintained in the current situation from an industrial relations perspective,” he explained in a Labour Day message this year.
McClashie said once the report was received, deliberated with the National Tripartite Advisory Council (NTAC) and presented to Cabinet, it would be made national policy and be available to the public.
[caption id="attachment_901169" align="alignnone" width="1016"] Maxi taxi operator Ricky Sambrano, who has been fully vaccinated, expresses mixed views about the planned rollout of vaccinations for persons in the transportation sector in this photo taken on July 3. Sambrano says he is more concerned about the lack of Transit Police patrols along the Priority Bus Route at this time. - Photo by Roger Jacob[/caption]
On Tuesday he added that, “Globally we have had this problem in almost every society and none of these countries have yet come up with a policy position on vaccines, not even the ILO (International Labour Organisation).
“So, it's not an easy set of decisions to make, given the ramifications, both in terms of public health and in terms of livelihoods, that would have.”
He said it was not a knee-jerk decision.
Earlier this year, at a TT Chamber of Commerce webinar, president of the Industrial Court Deborah Thomas-Felix said an employer cannot unilaterally change its policies if the person was already working there and a recognised majority union was present. The employer can, however, make changes to the terms and conditions for a person seeking new employment at the establishment. It was up to the person to decide whether they wanted to continue with their application.
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