The planned industrial action by the Public Service Union and nurses in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for next month, will not change the government’s policy that mandates Covid-19 vaccine for certain frontline workers, if they are to remain in their jobs.
On radio last week, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said, he has read that the PSU has the requisite notice under the Essential Services Act that its members will withdraw their services from September 7th to 10th however he noted that the people in the country will not think such a decision is reasonable.
In a press statement on Tuesday, the PSU said that its members voted at an emergency general meeting to take industrial action from September 7th to 10th “in response to the government’s amendment of the Public Health Act.
Prime Minister Gonsalves said that he happens to know a lot of farmers and fishers who don’t intend to take the vaccine, saying they cannot catch Covid-19 from or pass it on to their produce or catch, but if they ever visit the hospital, they would like the nurses and doctors dealing with them to be vaccinated.