I wonder what the take up is in the NHS, probably rather high?
I know a few medics, they were fully vaccinated at the first opportunity & were strongly encouraged to do so. Wasn’t sure how typical that situation was.This story is from back in March but nonetheless suggests a very high rate of vaccination amongst NHS staff - high 90s (outside of London at least!)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-56291564
What does union membership have to do with the topic at hand?
I’m sure the main motivation for the government is to create an aura of culpability around care workers to shift blame for the care home cull. It’s just that they might be a bit less brazen about this if care workers were less vulnerable, had more of a voice, and more social esteem - all things that unionisation can help with. People on here talking about care workers like they’re scum, basically. I don’t think they’d do that with nurses. The Tories know how to pick their targets, they’re not new to this.
Trade-union-membership-2019-statistical-bulletin.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Look above -- 50% of Education workers are unionised == do teachers' unions influence government? I can't myself see that unionisation amongst people providing personal care in homes has anything to do with the government's choice to focus attention on this sector rather than, for example, people providing patient care in the public sector.
The thing is you’re assuming they’re anti-vaxxers: it’s not fair and it’s not correct- I mean it’s way out. But that speaks to the question of social status I mentioned above: no one would make such an insulting and ignorant assumption about nurses, much less surgeons etc.I’m struggling to see how trade unions defending anti-vaccer’s employment rights helps carehome residents stay safe, carehome businesses stay viable etc. That’s assuming any union would be sufficiently insane to fight that particular battle of course.
I suspect Sean is largely correct about the motivation (deflecting blame from Tory criminal negligence), but it still doesn’t make defending the indefensible an especially good counter-argument. As stated upthread if I owned a carehome I’d sack any anti-vaccers on the spot. I’d far prefer to face a (likely non-existent) employment tribunal than see residents at increased risk or worse dying in droves, law-suits from breathed families, the business stigmatised as unsafe, staffed by nutters etc. The patients/residents safety has to be priority #1. No one has the right to be irresponsible in a place of work.
No one has the right to be irresponsible in a place of work.
The thing is you’re assuming they’re anti-vaxxers: it’s not fair and it’s not correct- I mean it’s way out. But that speaks to the question of social status I mentioned above: no one would make such an insulting and ignorant assumption about nurses, much less surgeons etc.
over past few months I have heard my son's experiences trying to get staff to work in care homes through an agency . It's been hell trying to persuade staff to travel many miles to cover shortages , trying to persuade them to take the risk of catching covid in an affected home . Having to negotiate higher pay rates to compensate them . Certainly is not easy to get staff to do these difficult jobsToynbee’s article touches on a number of important themes.
First that a policy of compulsory vaccination would risk further exacerbating an already desperate situation in terms of staff shortages in the care sector. Many care homes, already crippled financially and struggling to survive, would not be able to operate if all unvaccinated staff were sacked.
Then there’s the issue of how the social care sector is treated compared to the NHS. Social care is defenceless and doesn’t have the backing of big unions such as the BMA and RCN and it’s fair to say this government has treated it as the poor relation. Just look at the lack of funding it has received, staff shortages, the lack of PPE which was given to it during the pandemic, the practise of allowing untested hospital patients into care homes, the prevalence of low pay, zero hours contracts amongst staff etc. The care sector has largely been left to fend for itself during the course of the pandemic.
Now despite the heroic efforts of careers during the pandemic and how we all clapped them, the government wants employers to look them in the eye and sack them for not wanting to get vaccinated. An owner of some independent care homes is quoted in the article, questioning how he could do such a thing to staff and he’s right. This policy would be a cynical attempt by the government to pass the blame on to unvaccinated carers who without we would be in a far worse situation during this pandemic.
Then Toynbee highlights the issue of the success of getting more of the vaccine hesitant to be vaccinated, including both men and women and Muslim and Christian groups, either through pop-up clinics in sports stadiums and community centres, targeted engagement with faith leaders or even individual GPs phoning patients.
What is clear is that threatening unvaccinated care workers with the sack is a kick in the teeth and a show of complete contempt to the very people whose heroic efforts have got us through this pandemic. Such a sickening way to treat people but it’s what we’ve come to expect from this Tory government.
How can anyone of left-wing persuasion back this appalling policy?
If you owned a carehome for say adult Down Syndrome residents how exactly would you deal with it? For me it is clear. I’d ring-fence those residents and evaluate and reduce every risk factor as far as I possibly could. That obviously involves vetting staff.
WTF are "equality based issues"?We recognise that some GMB members may have medical concerns or equality based issues in receiving the vaccine.
WTF are "equality based issues"?