The vaccination is our best shot at getting out of this pandemic, and we can’t keep our federal frontline health care workers waiting any longer.
Unfortunately, many federal frontline health care workers are falling through the cracks of provincial vaccination calendars. In some jurisdictions, workers are waiting for vaccines to be available based on their age category, without consideration for their job’s risk factor. In others, federal workers are being excluded from provincial priority vaccinations for essential workers. Outside of health care, critical federal professionals that must congregate around specialized equipment, like our meteorologists who faced a COVID-19 workplace outbreak last year, were not even included on the government’s priority list. The Treasury Board needs to take responsibility for the safety of their frontline workers by ensuring that they are quickly vaccinated.
PIPSC President Debi Daviau wrote to the President of the Treasury Board, Jean-Yves Duclos, to express these concerns about federal nurses, physiotherapists and other frontline health care workers who are still excluded from their local vaccination programs.
We urge the Treasury Board to take the required leadership to ensure that frontline federal health care workers are vaccinated as quickly as possible. Protecting the health and safety of workers is a responsibility that cannot be passed off to provincial or territorial health agencies. As an employer, they must take responsibility for their employees’ vaccinations if they are in regular contact with clients, colleagues, or the public, or if they are critical for frontline operations.
We are exploring different options to resolve this issue. If you have concerns about the vaccination timetable for your age group and region, contact your PIPSC steward, or use our COVID-19 help form.