Source: Human Rights Commission
The government can learn from the important contribution unions made during the roll-out of the vaccine mandates, to inform the next stages of the health reforms says Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt.
“When the government introduced vaccine mandates, unions played a crucial role in supporting workers to make decisions about getting vaccinated. This made a huge difference to the government’s roll out of an important yet challenging policy” says Mr Hunt.
The Human Rights Commission’s research into job losses associated with vaccine mandates found that the proactive engagement of unions was an important contributor to keeping the overall number of job losses low.
“Unions clearly bring a people-centred focus to what can sometimes be hard-edged government policy.
“This people-focus that unions bring is needed now as the government rolls out its once-in-a-generation transformation of the health system, at a time when health and care workers are severely overloaded by short-staffing and surging cases of COVID-19 and the Flu” says Mr Hunt.
Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Karanina Sumeo says everyone has the right to decent work, in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. This includes the right to join a union. Te Tiriti o Waitangi guarantees Māori oritetanga (equality), which in the context of the health reforms means equity of access to good health outcomes for tangata whenua. This requires an engaged, empowered workforce.
“Our health and care workers are doing an extraordinary job under incredible pressure. They need to know that things will get better.
“The success of the new health system depends on how well engaged and supported workers feel. We’ll see a stronger healthy system if unions are at the table every step of the way” says Ms Sumeo.
Throughout the vaccine mandates Council of Trade Union affiliated health unions organised across affected workplaces to support their members to be vaccinated or find alternatives – such as moving to lower risk roles or going on special leave – for those who didn’t want to be vaccinated. They ensured that there were safe spaces for people to ask questions about the vaccination.
Unions support vulnerable workers to be able to work from home, and lobby hard for sufficient personal protective equipment to keep workers safe in essential work.
