National Tripartite Council to discuss mandatory vaccines in workplaces

Deputy Chairman of the National Tripartite Council (NTC) Peter Goudie said he will bring up the matter of employers imposing a mandatory vaccination requirement for their staff when the body meets today for its next board meeting.

Goudie was contacted after it was revealed yesterday that certain businesses were making it a requirement for employees to get the AstraZeneca vaccine currently being distributed by the government.

Goudie, who is also a human resources consultant, said company owners must be certain they have sought the correct legal and medical advice before taking such a leap.

“I can say that I certainly hope that the companies are getting legal opinions and doctors’ opinions on this,” he told Guardian Business yesterday, noting that the NTC has not yet discussed the matter but needs to in light of recent developments.

“No it hasn’t. I will agree with you in that it’s something that will be discussed, probably at the next board meeting, which is actually tomorrow. I am going to bring it up and I think it’s something we need to talk about.”

Goudie is also the
director of labor matters for the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation, however, he said that organization does not have an official position on the issue, adding, “None of us have been here before.”

The owners of the restaurant Sushi Rokkan informed its staff in a letter yesterday that they would have to get the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of June, to avoid being repositioned within the company and risk losing their jobs.

Another restaurant group yesterday also reportedly informed staff that they must either get vaccinated or will have to pay for a paid antigen test every five days.

Baha Mar and Atlantis announced last week that they would make vaccines available to staff voluntarily, with the latter offering incentives to those employees who choose to get vaccinated.

As of Tuesday, Baha Mar said 750 employees had chosen to be vaccinated.

Since the first 53,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were delivered to The Bahamas last month, more than 15,000 people have been vaccinated.

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/national-tripartite-council-to-discuss-mandatory-vaccines-in-workplaces/