THE Banking Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) is prepared to take Republic Bank Limited (RBL) to court for their policies on Covid-19 vaccination.
The union, again met with the bank’s representatives this week following correspondence received from the bank’s group Industrial Relations Manager Preston George, BIGWU stated in a press release on Thursday.
In a release on Thursday, BIGWU stated, “Due to the bank’s reliance on semantics to defend their position, the union will have no other alternative than to seek urgent legal redress.”
Last week, BIGWU told RBL to obtain proper industrial relations protocols for their Covid-19 policies for the intended full return of staff in September.
BIGWU’s second vice-president Jason Brown stated, “ The union continues to be supportive of all measures that seek to reduce the spread and associated ills of Covid-19 in the context of good and proper industrial relations.”
However the union is opposing “ the unilateral imposition of the costly PCR test on the unvaccinated, the unethical use of “monetary bribes” to achieve their agenda of herd immunity, the threats of disciplinary action and other prejudicial treatment against the unvaccinated.”
Brown said the union will strictly oppose the new terms of employment which were made without consultation with the union.
The bank, like other businesses has stated that unvaccinated workers will be allowed at workplaces, however, they must be subjected to regular PCR tests at their own cost.
