Prestige Holdings offers incentives to workers to take covid19 vaccines

PRESTIGE Holdings CEO Simon Hardy has said the company is trying to incentivise its workers to be vaccinated against covid19 as it looks towards the possibility of re-opening restaurant businesses, in some form or fashion, based on advice from the Government. Hardy did not say whether this initiative was mandatory or voluntary.

He also expressed concern that the longer restaurants remain closed, it increases the risk of some of them being permanently closed.

Prestige Holdings is the local franchise holder for KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut, Starbucks and TGI Friday restaurants. In response to claims from unnamed people who claim to be employees, Hardy, in a statement, said, "As an industry we are also incentivising our staff to encourage them to be vaccinated. At Prestige, our approach is to pay staff for a day’s pay (fixed at $150) for their time and out of pocket expenses. "

An unnamed person, in an email to Newsday, claimed that if workers were not vaccinated, "we would no longer be able to be put on a roster to work." Another media report had other unnamed people, who claimed they were employees, complaining about the incentives being offered by Prestige.

Hardy said, "Other companies in the industry are taking a similar approach with providing cash and/or vouchers etc." He also said," We have engaged staff and given them the facts and also provided an information & Q&A session with a medical doctor. This was done to help address the staff’s concerns."

Hardy said vaccination is still a major factor and Prestige has "a duty of care to provide a safe workplace for our staff and for our customers."

With current World Health Organization (WHO) advice that this is done by having as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, Hardy said, "As an industry, to achieve this, we are looking at prioritising the allocation of paid hours to staff who have taken the decision to get vaccinated and have already started on that journey by taking their first jab." He added, "This is the right thing to do for our people and our country."

At a virtual news conference on June 8, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said Government has not decided whether to make covid19 vaccines mandatory under law.

He referred to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR ) in April on mandatory vaccination as it related to a particular matter in the Czech Republic.

He said, "The Cabinet has not discussed this matter nor has advice been formalised in relation to this. All that I will say for now is that people are encouraged to vaccinate so that we can protect the nation as we move ahead."

In February, Industrial Court president Deborah Thomas-Felix said employers cannot make it mandatory for workers to be vaccinated.

But she said if a person "is not employed at the establishment but is seeking employment, an employer can insist that the individual gets a vaccine in order to obtain employment at the establishment."

Thomas-Felix said the person can then decide to be vaccinated or not be employed at that business on those terms.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on June 9, Labour Minister Stephen McClashie said the issue of a workplace vaccination policy is not an easy one to address.

"We have a number of things to consider, including health, human rights, legal considerations and maybe even personal rights under the Constitution." He pointed out, "This is an issue which all countries are grappling with at the moment and we have not found a single country which has defined a clear policy on this issue at this time." McClashie, at that time, said the matter is before the ministry's industrial relations advisory committee (IRAC), which comprises government, business and labour representatives."

In a statement on June 15, the Employers Consultative Association (ECA) said more research was needed before any decision could be taken about making vaccination mandatory in Trinidad and Tobago. The ECA said it has taken no position on this issue.