NCB Staff Association hints at vaccine lawsuit
Published:Wednesday | October 27, 2021 | 3:50 AM
The National Commercial Bank (NCB) Staff Association is threatening court action against NCB Financial Group if the entity fails to withdraw a staff circular dated October 12 outlining a mandate for COVID-19 vaccination or PCR test clearance for all employees.
In correspondence seen by The Gleaner, the staff association reiterated its willingness to work with NCB, but said that following a joint meeting on October 15, the bank was yet to address fundamental issues raised in respect of compulsory vaccination.
The association says it cannot cooperate with the bank’s management until certain protocols, as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), are fully satisfied.
Referencing the world bodies, the pandemic required a crisis response guided by social dialogue, not unilateral decision-making, the staff association said.
According to the group, failure by the bank to adhere to that philosophy compelled them to take appropriate steps to safeguard the human rights of members.
“It is also the bank’s failure to satisfy the conditions for mandatory vaccination why we are insisting on the withdrawal of Staff Circular #164/2021/S, dated October 12, 2021. The condition precedent for imposing mandatory vaccination requires a risk assessment done jointly by the bank and staff association to determine the extent of the exposure to risk, and whether or not there is a rise in COVID-19 cases over a period,” the association said.
The association noted the health ministry’s latest response that all critical numbers regarding COVID-19 are trending downwards.
The ministry said that 49 new cases were reported on Monday with a positivity rate of 8.3 per cent.
The staff association also reminded the bank of constitutional, religious, and medical objections to taking the vaccine.
The association said that it took seriously the COVID-19 pandemic and urged the management to work with them to protect the health and safety of the staff.
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination programmes are already facing legal tests, as two claims have been filed in the Supreme Court by workers of AIC Group and Cari-Med, whose subsidiary Kirk-FP was also named as a defendant.
They are seeking to stop the companies from mandating them to take the vaccine or face the pricey burden of paying for PCR tests.