Don’t waste your sympathy
I’M afraid I don’t have much sympathy with unvaccinated Ikea workers who have been told their sick pay will be cut and take time off because of Covid exposure.
News of the Swedish furniture firm’s new policy has sparked complaints staff are being denied freedom of choice. But all Ikea is saying is: “This is one of the rules you must follow if you want us to pay you.”
Employers do that all the time, ideally in consultation with staff, but ultimately, he who has the cash calls the tune. And with 10,000 staff and millions of customers, Ikea has taken the majority view, that vaccination against Covid makes sense.
The ruling only applies to staff with a poor absence record but they stand to get only statutory sick pay – about a quarter of their normal weekly wage of £400.
Now, I’d be vehemently opposed to mandatory vaccination. Let’s be thankful we don’t live in Italy, where anyone over 50 who fails to get vaccinated can be fined 600 euros. But Ikea staff had a choice and exercised it, just as the company has done.
Wessex Water has imposed a similar policy and I suspect many more employers will follow suit, or go even further by insisting staff are vaccinated, as in the NHS.
Apart from the risk of spreading the virus, they’re desperate to stem rising staff absences that disrupt services, hit supplies of food and raw materials and force the cancellation of operations
You might have spotted gaps on supermarket shelves or found that basic vegetables aren’t available online. If you’re having work done on the house, chances are it will take longer and cost more because timber is in short supply and the price has rocketed.
It’s not surprising companies are reacting in an uncompromising way – and antivaxxers can hardly complain when they’ve spent much of the past two years telling us there are only two sides in the debate: theirs, and the wrong one. Take this recent post on Facebook: “If you stood up for yourself and didn’t take the poison, you have survived the greatest psychological warfare in human history. They tried to manipulate, brainwash and force you. Attempted to make you feel guilty…tried to bribe you with gifts… to make you abandon your principles… turn your loved ones and friends against you.”
Well, refusing to “take the poison” is now having consequences.
Incidentally, I wonder if “they” are the same wicked lot that get our dustbins emptied, maintain our roads, stop our homes burning down, run our schools and libraries and safely deliver our babies…