PM spells out road map for re-employment of teachers

The door has been opened for teachers who lost their jobs last November, after refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, to be re-employed by the Government.

The announcement was made yesterday by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves and follows what he said was a decision made by Cabinet this week, based on recommendations from the Chief Medical Officer.

Based on the recommendations, it is no longer a requirement for adult workers at learning institutions, which includes teachers, to be 100 per cent vaccinated to maintain their jobs.

The prime minister, who was speaking at the launch of the Volcanic Eruption Emergency Project (VEEP), said teachers who were dismissed can now write to the Ministry of Education under this “new regime”, to indicate their willingness to be employed.

“I want to make it plain that this is not reinstatement of teachers. This is not a question of an automatic reinstatement of teachers because to say its an automatic reinstatement of teachers would be to suggest that the teachers were not legally, constitutionally out of their jobs because they chose not to take the vaccine and follow the requirement,” Gonsalves said.

“And clearly, they expressed an interest in employment as teachers. Those who had not followed the requirement and therefore, had abandoned their jobs under the law, they would be required to follow the conditions, including periodic testing.”

The Prime Minister said the Ministry of Education and Chief Personnel Officer would make an announcement soon relating to the period within which applications would have to be received.

He anticipates the period will be short — about one week “because the truth is this; that we have to staff the schools for the new term and we need to get on with that”.

The recommendations approved by Cabinet this week came officially from the Health Services Subcommittee of the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) and include recommendations for several categories of workers impacted by the government’s vaccine policy implemented in the last quarter of 2021.

In the absence of the need for 100 per cent vaccination, the staff at schools must now adhere to 100 per cent mandatory masking, three to six feet spacing, cohorting, full ventilation, sanitising and screening through regular testing.

Gonsalves said yesterday that members of the police force, workers at the Port Authority and public servants are not required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 for employment.

Instead, these groups of workers must adhere to mandatory mask wearing at all times, sanitising, full ventilation and regular screening through testing.

“…But we will build into the system, a vaccine advocacy programme, still encouraging people to take the vaccine because it’s still the best defence,” the Prime Minister said.

Recommendations made however, maintain that healthcare workers are still required to be 100 per cent vaccinated and appropriately boosted.

This applies to all healthcare workers currently employed as well as persons seeking employment in the healthcare sector.

Gonsalves said the Ministry of Health and the Health Services Subcommittee of NEMO will advise on the testing regime to be implemented.

He added that the state has agreed to pay for the first four sets of tests for persons who are employed and not vaccinated.

It will however become the workers’ responsibility to pay for testing once these four tests have been exhausted.

“For some teachers, they say they not even going to take a test. Well, if you not even going take a test, how can you get employment?,” the prime minister said, adding that even though “the epidemiological situation is less serious now than it was at the time of the requirement, the making of the requirement, that we’re still under a public health emergency and there’s still the problem of COVID”.

“We are not out of the woods, but it is sensible in the circumstances, for amendments to be made, in the requirements and they are made within these terms and the relevant entities responsible; chief personnel office and the ministry of education, health etc, will publicise these things,” Gonsalves said.