BCPOU union says it will not allow company to remove right to choose
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Telecommunication Company (BTC) has given its employees a deadline of January 1, 2022, to vaccinate against the coronavirus in compliance with the company-wide policy.
Eyewitness News understands the company’s leadership team is set to meet with the government today.
This comes as Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC) implements a mandatory vaccination policy for associates to return to offices in various jurisdiction this month.
In a memo to associates, CWC CEO Inge Smidts said going back to normal was no longer an option and the company had “taken a decision to introduce a vaccine mandate for all employees, in conjunction with our phased return-to-office approach”.
She said the mandate will be implemented on a market-by-market basis over time, depending on unique local conditions.
Vaccination remains voluntary in The Bahamas, though the private sector has increasingly incentivized it.
Smidts also advised CWC is seeking to reach an 80 percent vaccination rate among all its employees.
In an internal memo to staff, BTC Chief Executive Officer Andre Foster noted that BTC does not meet the company’s requirements for the vaccination mandate.
He said the return to office for BTC will not be until January 2022 at the earliest.
He also sought to defend the vaccine mandate, noting that it is important to help prevent serious illness from COVID-19, evidenced by the low number of vaccinated people hospitalized, and to help protect the more vulnerable in the company.
Notwithstanding the company’s policy, Foster wrote: “It’s a personal choice, and I encourage you to discuss this with your loved ones.”
He said from now until the end of the year, all colleagues working remotely will continue to do so.
“In preparation for our return to office, we will mandate proof of vaccination for all non-FTEs, effective January 1, with limited exceptions; require all new non-FTEs to provide proof of vaccination immediately; ask that all current full-time colleagues share their vaccination status, which will be confidentially and securely managed, using these simple instructions,” read the memo.
“This information will be kept in the strictest of confidence and will enable the company to make very important planning decisions as we plan our anticipated return to the office.”
Foster also said the company will launch, pending union discussion, a flexible working framework.
He acknowledged that while it can be an unsettling time, “we are being thoughtful and cautious as we prepare to implement these measures”.
“We are also mindful that the situation may change at any time, given the nature of the virus, and I commit that we will work together to implement the necessary precautions to protect us all,” Foster said.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Bahamas Communications and Public Officers Union (BCPOU) President Sherry Benjamin said the company sought to implement the vaccinate mandate with all temporary and contract workers at BTC by the end of November, but the union intervened and requested an extension as some contract workers were breastfeeding and wanted to get the jab at a later date.
She also said that following the staff memo, a regional town hall meeting was held for Liberty Latin American and the Caribbean, where representatives of the “people’s team” and legal team advised that anyone who did not get the jab would risk losing their jobs.
Benjamin said she asked if the company would absorb liability for anyone negatively impacted by the vaccine, but the legal team said the company would not.
She said the union will not allow the company to remove associates’ right to choose, though it is not opposed to the vaccine and is aware that some employees have taken it.
“We’re not in agreement with forced vaccination,” she said.
“We are not anti-vaxx — get that clear. We are just anti-forced-vaccination because…there is just too much uncertainty around the vaccine and the company is not taking on any liability.”
She called on the government to intervene and make its position clear to the Bahamian public.
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