Trade unions predict numerous lawsuits if employers threaten 'vaccination or dismissal'

 

The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) says if employers force workers to get vaccinated or face dismissal, the Ministry of Labour and the Industrial Disputes Tribunal will be clogged with cases.

 

Kavan Gayle, President General of the BITU, was among five trade union leaders who joined the Ministry of Health on Friday to urge workers to get vaccinated.

 

However, Mr. Gayle said if companies pursue forced vaccination, it will erode trust between workers and employers "and then you're going to have another situation where you're going to have numerous disputes around dismissals [filling] up the Ministry of Labour and leading to other disputes at the Industrial Disputes Tribunal, which is already overburdened."

 

Mr. Gayle also noted that the government has not made vaccination mandatory and is cautioning companies against going that route.

 

Instead, he urged employers to await the vaccination policy being finalised by unions and employer groups which "should come out very soon." 

 

Helene Davis Whyte, head of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), has also suggested that employers are "batting on a very sticky wicket" in trying to dismiss workers or take action against those who have decided not to take the vaccine.