Personal freedom or public health?

ALABOR group has called on the government to ban employers from implementing “No vaccine, no work” policies or prohibiting employees who refuse a coronavirus vaccine once they become available from working.

The labor group’s position is wrong and dangerous, and the government should not entertain its demand. However, the potential that such policies could be imposed by employers does need to be addressed and guidelines need to be issued before the practice becomes commonplace.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Associated Labor Union (ALU) condemned reports that some firms will prevent employees from returning to work if they refuse to get Covid-19 vaccine shots once available, calling the policy a violation of the right of workers to decide on their health and well-being.

“Employees, either in private or in government, must never ever be subjected to any compulsion. The decision of any person not to be vaccinated should be respected in the same way we respect those who have taken the vaccine,” ALU National Executive Vice President Gerard Seno said in the statement.

Seno said businesses should be limited to only encouraging their workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and not be permitted to make vaccination mandatory.

Reportedly, a number of firms, particularly in the business process outsourcing or BPO sector, have already informed their employees they will implement “No vaccine, no work” policies when the vaccines become widely available.

In the statement, the ALU demanded that the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) intervene to preempt any employers who plan to implement “No vaccine, no work.”

“Before it becomes a norm, the Department of Labor and Employment must respond quickly to these surfacing abuses and provide immediate protection measures by outlawing these unfair and unjust treatment of employees,” Seno said.

For an organization that supposedly represents expertise in labor affairs, the ALU is displaying either shocking ignorance or a blatant disregard for the reasonable boundaries between the rights and responsibilities of employees and employers.

Unless a law is passed that specifically states otherwise, a person does have the right to choose whether or not to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. However, because Covid-19 is a community public health threat, not having the vaccine makes that person a risk to others and subject to certain limitations or conditions for the sake of public safety. Likewise, an employer is responsible for maintaining the health and safety of all its employees while in the workplace, and by law, cannot knowingly permit or engage in unsafe practices. Given the threat that Covid-19 clearly poses to health and safety, any employer is therefore well within its rights to impose a “no vaccine, no work” policy if that is deemed necessary to maintain a safe workplace environment.

Be that as it may, we believe the DoLE should address the issue and create guidelines that will ensure any such policy is implemented as fairly as possible. We think this can be done in such a way as to offer an acceptable compromise to the ALU’s extreme and erroneous position while assuring employers that their ability to care for their workforces is not seriously hindered.

First, any “No vaccine, no work” policy cannot be imposed unless vaccines are available to the workforce the policy applies to. The simplest way to ensure that without putting an undue financial burden on employees is to require any employer who wishes to implement the policy to make the vaccine available to its workers, either free or at minimal cost that can be covered through some easy to manage arrangement.

Second, any employer who wishes to implement a “no vaccine, no work” policy should be obliged to demonstrate that it is necessary to do so, and that “normal” safety practices such as mask wearing and physical distancing are either impractical or insufficient to guarantee safety. This can be done by requiring employers to secure a permit from the DoLE before implementing the policy.

It has been reported that the DoLE is in fact working on a draft order that addresses “No vaccine, no work” policies, and we hope that suggestions such as those above will be considered.