Trade unions: No mandatory vaccination without dialogue

THREE trade union federations have endorsed the sentiments of the president of the Industrial Court on mandatory covid19 vaccinations.

In her address at the formal opening of the 2021/2022 law term, the court’s president, Deborah Thomas-Felix, said a mandatory covid19 vaccination policy could not be introduced unilaterally as a new term of employment for existing employees without discussion and consultation.

In a statement, the Joint Trade Union Movement (JTUM), National Trade Union Centre (NATUC), and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and NGOS (FITUN), said they immediately aligned with the president’s statement on the need for “genuine social dialogue.”

The three trade-union umbrella groups said they have publicly said bullying and a threatening approach to inspire people to get vaccinated were not an effective strategy.

“We advocated for education and information as a means of displaying good leadership at a critical time in the country’s history. We also stated that in the absence of any laws which legitimise mandatory vaccinations, we would oppose such a practice which we are seeing openly practised by the business sector and subliminally by the government,” the statement said.

The federations also agreed social dialogue was key to any adjustment in the workplace.

Thomas-Felix also urged the labour movement to return to the National Tripartite Advisory Council.

In March, the three federations all withdrew from the council, saying it served no purpose for the trade union movement and the working class.

In its statement, the federations said they were prepared to “sit at the table of genuine social dialogue where each party is respected and treated equally and with the decorum that is expected of this critically important process.”

They said they would not submit “to any charade by this or any government whose only aim is to gain cheap political points on the backs of the working class in this country.”

The umbrella bodies, instead, called on the Government to respond to their recommendations for the council.

“In the meantime, we are ready and prepared to defend the rights of each and every worker in Trinidad and Tobago from the heavy and exploitative hands of some of those unscrupulous employers and the Government.”