Arthur
The Ministry of Social Development has decided to show some government kindness by going against the Public Service Commission’s call for a halt to job losses for unvaccinated staff as reported in the NZ Herald on Tuesday.
It is going to terminate unvaccinated staff regardless of common sense, court rulings and the government.
Government ministries are pushing ahead with terminations for unvaccinated staff, confident they are on firm legal ground.
The Ministry for Social Development (MSD) had paused terminations while it considered a High Court ruling against Covid-19 vaccine mandates last month. Teachers and health workers are also challenging the mandate in court.
Some MSD staff and their advocates had also hoped that the ministry would back down given that mandates could be eased after the Omicron outbreak peaks.
But unvaccinated staff told the Herald that they had now been called to meetings to discuss their future at the ministry.
They were told by MSD leadership that it had considered advice on the court ruling – which said a vaccine mandate for police and defence force staff was an unjustified incursion on their rights – and had confirmed its vaccine policy was legally sound.
So an arrogant government department has deluded itself in a sea of hubris and arrogance that its policy is sound when part of the judgement for Police and Defence staff was that the mandates were an infringement of part of the Bill of Rights. Since that covers all New Zealanders, the Ministry of Social Development is drawing a very long bow.
In all, 220 MSD staff stand to lose their jobs – around 2.3 per cent of the workforce.
Unvaccinated staff at the Ministry of Social Development have protested about the blanket policy for vaccination which requires staff to have the vaccine even if they are able to work from home and never come into contact with others.
Lynda Whitlow, who worked in an administrative role in Canterbury, said she had been working at home since August and was not required to have face-to-face contact.
Whitlow, who is unvaccinated, said MSD appeared to have a policy of termination or vaccination, with no other options considered.
Experts say the risks of adverse events from the vaccine were far outweighed by the risks of Covid-19 infection. But Whitlow said she was hesitant to get vaccinated because she had severe reactions to childhood vaccinations.
Oranga Tamariki is also following a similar path.
Oranga Tamariki also has an internal policy – separate from the Government mandate – that all staff are vaccinated by March 1.
It seems these arrogant government departments stupidly think that because they have separate internal policies from the government, what they are doing is legitimate. They are deluded. The Bill of Rights applies whether the vaccine mandate is a blanket one from the government or one enacted by an individual employer. This reveals the autocratic, arrogant, controlling and deluded mindset of the management of our government departments. It is also a pig headed and ludicrous attitude, considering:
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has indicated that Government vaccine mandates – which cover health, education, corrections and others – will be scrapped when they are no longer needed. A deadline has not been set, but Ardern has said that the strictest Covid settings will be eased after the Omicron peak.
It appears some government departments just want to keep bullying staff out of jobs. Government departments that already have a high staff turnover due to work overload, job stress and unprofessional management who consider their egos, ideological positions and self-righteousness ahead of staff welfare.
