Council sticks with mandatory vaccination policy for Hamilton city workers

Hamilton council has decided to keep its requirements for most city staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

This means non-compliant workers who have been on unpaid leaves of absence and those undergoing rapid-antigen testing since November will lose their jobs as of June 1.

Last week, in a 6-4 vote, councillors backed changes that would have eased requirements for existing workers but still required new hires to adhere to the policy.

But on Wednesday, final approval of that close vote failed on a 6-6 tie with four councillors absent.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger thanked the 94 per cent of city employees who did the right thing" in getting vaccinated but expressed disappointment in the minority that didn't.

Some have medical reasons for not getting shots, Eisenberger acknowledged.

But I think we all have a collective responsibility to do our part to protect our community, our fellow employees and our fellow citizens."

Consequently, the city needs to follow through" with its mandatory policy, Eisenberger said.

Choosing not to be part of the solution to the challenges that we face is not a great community partnership approach."

Councillors Maureen Wilson, Judi Partridge, Nrinder Nann, Russ Powers and John-Paul Danko also opposed easing off the mandatory policy.

Danko, who noted a member of his family is sick with coronavirus, said his tolerance for this anti-vax narrative is at an all-time low."

The Mountain councillor said society has been lulled into this false sense of security" despite the ongoing pandemic.

This is the worst public health emergency in the past century and we've lost perspective."

City policy must acknowledge the selfish entitlement" of those who don't get vaccinated, he said.

Councillors Jason Farr, Esther Pauls, Sam Merulla, Maria Pearson, Tom Jackson and Lloyd Ferguson supported the staff-recommended changes.

Council wasn't killing it" but rather suspending" the policy with the option of revisiting it, Farr said, also noting the compliance rate had increased to 94 per cent.

Lora Fontana, executive director of human resources, said staff would continue to monitor" the city's circumstances." But the current situation could open up the city to legal challenges.

Under provincial direction to end workplace vaccination policies, the city is not confident" terminations would be supported" in court or during labour arbitration, Fontana said.

She noted the rejected amendment means those who fail to disclose full vaccination status as of May 31 will lose their jobs June 1. That includes those who are on leaves of absence.

Citizen appointees will also have to adhere to the policy, she noted.

Under the requirements, 64 employees who haven't complied have been on unpaid leaves of absence while 441 unvaccinated workers have undergone rapid-antigen testing since Nov. 4.

Most of Hamilton's municipal comparators have scrapped mandatory vaccination policies or persisted with ones that don't involve termination, Fontana told The Spectator via email.

Representatives of two labour organizations with sizeable contingents of city workers - the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 107 and CUPE Local 5167 - didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Last week, council, which discussed the policy changes at general issues committee, voted to bring workers back May 2 and stop testing.

Notwithstanding that change, workers at the city's two long-term-care homes - Macassa Lodge and Wentworth Lodge - would still need to be vaccinated and undergo testing irrespective of status.

Unvaccinated staff at the Red Hill Childcare Centre and Hamilton paramedics would still be put through regular testing, as well.

On Wednesday, ahead of the tied vote, Coun. Sam Merulla said he was taking his cue from Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, the city's medical officer of health, to ease requirements.

When the medical officer speaks, I listen," Merulla said. End of story."

Coun. Esther Pauls, who has consistently railed against mandatory shots for city workers under the threat of termination, said the local policy is no longer relevant" amid provincial direction.

I don't want hatred toward the unvaccinated," said an emotional Pauls through sobs, later asking if the city wants people to wear badges" to flag their status.

Pauls added we will have losses" and a high cost to pay," but questioned what good will it do" if the city achieves a 100 per cent" vaccination rate.

What good it will do, responded Nann, is reducing the severity of symptoms, curbing the spread of the virus and protecting immunocompromised workers.

Council's decision to adhere to its mandatory policy comes amid lagging vaccination rates in Hamilton, where 58 per cent of adults have three doses. Moreover, nearly half of children ages five to 11 have no shots.

On Tuesday, in a sobering message over social media, Hamilton Health Sciences president and CEO Rob MacIsaac pointed to outbreaks at five hospital sites.

And Hamilton's wastewater infection signal is at its highest ever. As much as we want this to be over, it's not," he added.

HHS and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton have opted to keep mandatory vaccination for all its workers amid the sixth pandemic wave and have already let non-compliant workers go.

Councillors Terry Whitehead, Brad Clark, Brenda Johnson and Arlene VanderBeek were absent for Wednesday's vote.

Staff said a two-thirds majority vote would be required to reverse the decision and implement the policy changes.

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com