Hundreds of Alberta health-care workers who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 have filed a complaint with their union and are receiving financial compensation.
Benefits will be paid to 696 Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Alberta Precision Laboratories employees this week, with some receiving up to $5,000 for work interruptions due to the pandemic.
This follows a recent settlement between the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and AHS.
A mediator was sent to adjudicate the dispute, which involved more than 1,000 complaints from union members who refused to be vaccinated.
Under the arbitrator's binding recommendation, AHS will pay $5,000 to each person forced to take time off from work.
Employees who were allowed to come to work but had to pay for routine coronavirus testing will receive full compensation for all documented testing costs.
And those forced to work from home will make a “full recovery,” according to the ruling.
That amount has not yet been determined, but is expected to vary significantly.
More payments likely
In 2021 and 2022, 1,650 full-time and part-time AHS employees who were not fully vaccinated were placed on unpaid leave.
Some were later allowed to work, but had to pay for the necessary tests themselves to enter the field.
The settlement concerns only companies under the HSAA banner, but negotiations are ongoing with other companies.
The Alberta Nurses Union (UNA) said an arbitrator appointed through the Labor Relations Board is involved in the matter.
“There are 82 complaints in which UNA seeks lost wages on behalf of members who provided sufficient information to support workplace accommodations,” the statement said. .
“UNA is also seeking compensation for 46 employees for time and expenses related to the employer's testing policy. There are also two other members who provided information that did not meet the requirements of the testing regime. , we are seeking lost wages on their behalf.”
Experts expect those employees, as well as those affiliated with the Alberta Employees Union, to receive payments through mediation.
unclear priorities
Although many claim they did not get vaccinated for medical and religious reasons, it is widely believed that the majority did not get vaccinated under the guise of personal freedom.
The University of Calgary law professor says that makes a mediator's job a little more difficult.
Lorian Hardcastle told CTV News: “If there are truly medical reasons why you can't vaccinate, that's a very small number of people, but that's not the same as people who have chosen against vaccination as a personal choice. It’s very different.”
“So I think it would be very frustrating for some members of the public to find out that some people are covered (by the latter).”
Hardcastle pointed to other cases surrounding vaccination mandates that have been resolved individually across the country.
“(AHS) deals with a lot of people and probably just wanted this issue resolved,” she said.
“But I think it would be ideal to have a court rule on these issues, so those precedents would be binding and there would be more certainty.
“Because if tomorrow there was a new pandemic and employers wanted to introduce vaccination policies, they would have a hard time implementing them, and they would have to wait and see what those policies would look like in labor arbitration. You’ll have a hard time knowing.”
AHS responds
CTV News has reached out to both AHS and the Minister of Health for comment on this matter.
AHS issued the following statement:
“AHS will implement binding recommendations regarding the payment of eligible employees whose requests for medical or lodging leave are denied and who are placed on unpaid leave for failure to comply with the policy,” the statement reads.
“AHS is satisfied that the binding recommendations strike a balance that recognizes the need to address unresolved complaints and the rights of employers to implement such policies.”
Neither the Minister of Health nor his office responded by reporter's deadline.
The HSAA also declined to comment further.
