Nine Customs workers fired for refusing vaccine
IN what could be a sign of things to come, nine Customs workers, including four at a single provincial port, have been fired for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine.
One of the maritime border workers said she was devastated to be sacked and frustrated by what she says was a lack of consultation by the agency. She asked not to be named because she feared public criticism of her decision not to vaccinate.
Customs is defending its communication with the workers and says it can’t offer redundancy payments, as the sacked staff are calling for, because their roles are not being disestablished. Their contracts were terminated after Customs was unable to find suitable alternative roles for them.
Auckland employment lawyer Catherine Stewart said employers of workers required to be vaccinated were likely to be able to substantively justify dismissing unvaccinated employees. They would point to the Covid-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order, and explain they were unable to lawfully continue with an unvaccinated person in the role.
She agreed with Customs’ view that redundancy provisions in employment agreements would not come into play where a worker was dismissed because they were unvaccinated.
‘‘It is important to remember that a person cannot be vaccinated against their will; an employee is entitled to refuse to be vaccinated. However, the consequence of this could be the loss of their job.’’
The firings came on the eve of the vaccinations order going into force. It requires all workers in managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) facilities, and those who work for government agencies at the border, to be vaccinated.
The worker had a role until Friday at a provincial port monitoring international ships, making sure stevedores and their crew took appropriate Covid precautions, including protective gear. ‘‘We took it seriously, it’s really important. If we weren’t there, people got lax.’’
The woman said she never came into contact with international crew and believed there was insufficient risk to justify her being required to vaccinate.
She found out via the media in March that workers like her, who
‘It’s been very, very unpleasant, very unprofessional, and it’s devastating,’ a sacked worker tells George Block.
refuse to get vaccinated, could be barred from frontline roles.
The woman would not disclose why she wouldn’t get the vaccine. ‘‘I don’t . . . have to explain . . . it’s my choice under the Bill of Rights.’’
Matters came to a head at a meeting on Thursday. Management said her role couldn’t be modified to reduce her exposure to Covid-19, according to a letter sent the following day terminating her employment.
‘‘We also advised you that Customs has been searching for internal redeployment opportunities for you, none were available in the [...] region, but Customs is looking for external redeployment opportunities through the Public Services Commission’s Workforce Mobility Hub,’’ the letter said.
The woman is supported by Christchurch employment law advocate Ashleigh Fechney.
Fechney said that at the meeting Customs was in effect going through a redundancy process, that there was insufficient health and safety risk or legal basis to require
mandatory vaccination for her position, and that Customs had not followed a fair process.
The agency disagreed.
‘‘The roles are ongoing and we will recruit into them,’’ the letter said. ‘‘Given the matters we discussed at the meeting, including the reasons why Customs requires your position to be performed by a vaccinated person, the Government’s requirement that non-vaccinated border workers stop working in those positions by May 1, and the absence of suitable redeployment opportunities, we advised that Customs had decided to terminate your employment as proposed.’’
She was not required to work out her notice.
The woman said she was frustrated and disappointed. ‘‘I just feel undervalued. It’s been very, very unpleasant, very unprofessional, and it’s devastating.’’
Fechney, who is advocating for other Customs workers in a similar situation, said the Government should pay the sacked workers compassionate compensation.
‘‘If you’re going to terminate, at least do it in a redundancy setting. They gave up their own health and safety to protect the borders.’’
The worker was also given the option of remaining employed for four weeks while Customs searched for suitable jobs at other government agencies, such as Corrections.
‘‘None of my clients were interested in that,’’ Fechney said. ‘‘There’s a big difference between working in Corrections and working in Customs.’’
Customs people and capability deputy chief executive Jacinda Funnell confirmed nine Customs employees had their contracts terminated because they were unvaccinated.
More than 95 per cent of Customs staff have had their first dose and more than 85 per cent the second dose, she said.
The agency had been able to redeploy most of the unvaccinated staff.
If they made the workers redundant they would be legally unable to replace them, she said.
A lot of effort had gone into communication and consultation.