No timeline for when unvaccinated government employees can return to work
All three Maritime provinces are lifting public health restrictions and moving to a stage that’s been described as “living with COVID.”
Starting Monday, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will no longer require the use of COVID-19 vaccine passports to enter places like restaurants, sports facilities, and entertainment venues.
With the easing of restrictions and a return to so-called “normal” some questions are being raised by unvaccinated workers and unions about when they can return to the job.
“You’re changing everything,” says Nova Scotia General Employees Union (NSGEU) president Jason MacLean. “But now workers are left saying, ‘I can go to a restaurant and I don’t have to show my vaccine certificate but I can’t go to work?’”
MacLean says the province and public officials need to answer that question.
There are 34,000 employees represented by the NSGEU. MacLean can’t say exactly how many are off work due to the vaccine policy but says he’s getting a lot more calls since the province announced they’ll be lifting all COVID-19 health restrictions come March 21.
New Brunswick announced it’s dropping all COVID-19 restrictions and public health guidelines on March 14.
Premier Blaine Higgs said they’re still working on a plan to bring back unvaccinated government workers and it could take a few weeks before they have the new protocols ironed out.
“That’s being analyzed right now,” said Higgs. “As we lift measures we will be looking at all our pandemic policies, including mandatory vaccination for existing employees.”
Going forward, Higgs confirmed that the province’s requirement for proof of vaccination will stand for all new government employees.
It’s anticipated both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia will implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policies for workers in the healthcare sector, including those working in hospitals and long-term care facilities.
“There are higher risk areas like long term care and public health, that we need to focus on a little differently,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. “It’s not new for healthcare workers to need a slate of vaccinations.”
As for the return to work plan for other government sectors, Houston said that will be looked at in the coming days.
Nova Scotia confirmed there are 82 government employees off work because of their vaccination status.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) says 14 employees were off on unpaid leave for non-compliance with the vaccine mandate.
HRM spokesperson Brynn Budden, said those employees are expected to return to work on Monday.
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