Government employees who were terminated for not taking the vaccination under the COVID-19 mandate will need to wait until the policy is rescinded before they can return to work without the Jab. However, a specific date for such seems distant.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said the government is waiting until after July to fill the positions permanently, which were left vacant by those who refused to follow the mandate.
Gonsalves’s statement means that the government is not easing up on its vaccine mandate requirement for frontline workers anytime soon.
Speaking on the WEFM Issue at Hand programme on Sunday 8 May, Gonsalves said;
“The majority of positions are still filled by temporary workers. Vaccinations are required. However, many people have chosen not to comply with the requirement. Our government does not want to be difficult, but we need a safe classroom for the children and for the other teachers.”
According to Gonsalves, everyone is telling him that this teacher or that teacher wants to return to the classroom without taking the vaccine. What about those who do not want the unvaccinated in the classroom? He asked.
“What about the teacher who is inside the classroom, who has taken the vaccine, who has stated that he or she does not want to have the unvaccinated teacher there?”
“We now know there is no reason to fear this vaccine. What is the problem? What is the problem with taking the vaccine?” So that’s my answer to my brothers and sisters.”
Frontline workers are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under the mandate that came into effect on November 2021.
A case involving over 500 employees whose termination was triggered because they refused to take the Covid-19 vaccine as required by the government will be heard in the High Court next week.
Attorneys retained by the Public Service Union (PSU) and St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers’ Union (SVGTU) to represent the dismissed workers have filed a motion for leave to request judicial review of the dismissal decision.
Justice Esco Henry granted leave for judicial review on March 10th, 2022.
On May 3, 2022, the Public Service Union and the Teachers Union met with the New Democratic Party to call for the abolition of the ULP government’s mandatory vaccination policy, the reinstatement of all workers who lost their jobs because of it and restoring all their benefits.
