Since the beginning of the pandemic, the capitalist command system we live under has dictated responses or non-responses to COVID without consulting the organized labour force. Nurses and other health workers fought disease in appalling conditions, at great risk. They were told they were heroes, but would not receive substantial pay increases, or even a greater voice.
Today, employers are rolling out vaccine mandates for workplaces. Some union leaderships, such as UNIFOR, have taken the position that employer dictates must be respected above all else. However, the top-down tactic of bullying and shaming employees into taking a vaccine will just frustrate things.
Workers have been on the frontline of the pandemic, as nurses and other medical roles, and performing the labour needed to keep society going. Unions are ready to implement public health measures. For those who refuse vaccines, there are workplace processes in place where people can put forward their case. We should respect the mechanisms that exist, and give a fair hearing to anyone who wants it. Overall, organized labour needs to become a voice in public health, and its role expanded.
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Interview with Phil Conlon and Tony Leah
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