City of Hamilton considering mandatory vaccination policy for city employees

The City of Hamilton is considering a policy to make it mandatory for all city employees to received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger will be calling a special city council meeting next Thursday where city staff will provide information about the proposed policy, according to statements from the city released Friday.

Eisenberger said that around 95 percent of the 17,479 COVID-19 cases reported in Hamilton between December 2020 and Aug. 7, 2021 have been among people who are unvaccinated.

"As a major employer in the City we have an obligation to undertake all necessary precautions to protect our workforce, their families, and in turn the community as a whole," he said. 

The city has around 9,000 municipal employees, according to its website. 

Eisenberger said that the city has shared vaccination information with employees, encouraged all staff to get vaccinated as soon as they were eligible and allowed staff to book vaccination appointments during work hours when possible.

Similar policies have been introduced in Toronto. Toronto Mayor John Tory said Thursday that all City of Toronto employees will be required to receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 30. Metrolinx, Ontario's regional transit agency, has announced that it is also developing a mandatory vaccination policy for employees.

Hamilton has recently fallen behind other Ontario cities as Waterloo, London, Ottawa and Niagara in its vaccination rates, prompting city councillors to voice support for a proof-of-vaccination system to access public spaces such as restaurants.

Local transit union says policy would violate rights of workers

Eric Tuck, the president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 107, said that the proposed policy is a "draconian measure" that is not necessary. The union represents about 1,000 transit workers employed by the City of Hamilton.

"My phone has been ringing off the hook," he said. He said he's been receiving calls from members who are concerned about the policy, especially those who did not get vaccinated for religious reasons.

"Let me be 100 per cent clear. ATU 107 absolutely encourages and supports the belief that vaccinations are the way out of this pandemic. And we highly recommend that all of our members get vaccinated," he said. 

"However, we do not believe it should be the right of an employer or government body or any agency to make it a mandatory condition of employment, especially given the lack of alternative efforts to reach the goals of sufficient mass vaccination."

He added that to "arbitrarily mandate such a violation of personal rights and freedom of choice violates the sanctity over one's own body." 

Tuck said that the city should expand its education efforts among city workers and provide more support for workers who want to get vaccinated. He has heard from operators who have lost pay after taking time off due to the side effects of the second dose of the vaccine, he said.

He said he believes the City of Hamilton is following Toronto's lead without considering the consequences.

"I think we're taking this way too far too quickly, without any clear evidence that there's even a problem here in Hamilton," he said.

"It's monkey see, monkey do."

The executive board at ATU Local 107 will be holding an emergency meeting on Monday to decide on a course of action, according to Tuck.

When asked about Tuck's comments, a spokesperson for the City of Hamilton said that the city has a obligation as an employer to "take all necessary precautions" due to concerns about "increasing COVID-19 cases, workplace outbreaks and the Delta variant."

"As such, the City's Senior Leadership Team is recommending a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination verification policy to Council that would require all City of Hamilton employees, save those with documented health or related exemptions, to receive both doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine," the spokesperson told the CBC in a statement.

The spokesperson added that a staff report will be released before the council meeting on Thursday to outline the policy and accommodations for employees in line with the city's human rights obligations.