Unvaccinated frontline public sector workers who refuse to be tested every 14 days will not be paid for as long as they remain untested.
That is one of the policy measures which was published in the gazette today.
According to the gazette, all unvaccinated frontline Public Service, Statutory Corporation, and government owned company workers are required to be tested for Covid-19 at least once every 14 days.
However, unvaccinated workers who do not comply with these covid testing requirements “shall not be permitted to enter the workplace and shall not be paid for the period of non compliance”.
The government announced its intention to implement these measures about three weeks ago but until now the policy had not been published to make the public officially aware of the changes.
The Trade Union Congress (TUC) had argued about the government’s earlier request to have these workers pay for their tests out of pocket. That decision was reversed.
However, the government still moved ahead to implement testing requirements and a decision not to pay unvaccinated workers who refuse to get tested.
Meanwhile, workers who opt to be tested are expected to submit their test results to the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health Headquarters or her designee. The government is expected to subsidize the cost of those tests.
Employees will be permitted to work between testings unless otherwise notified by the Chief Medical Officer or her designee.