Coca-Cola’s bottling plant has been given the okay to suspend unvaccinated workers without pay. .In October, Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Ltd. ordered all 700 workers at its Brampton, Ont. plant to show proof of vaccination..A labour arbitrator ruled the bottling plant, which is Coca-Cola’s largest in Canada, is justified in suspending unvaccinated employees who work in close quarters on the factory floor, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..“Employees must attend the workplace to do their jobs,” said Mark Wright, an Ontario arbitrator. “Most work in close quarters with fellow employees. Even the drivers in the bargaining unit regularly interact in close contact with dock workers and customers.”.Ahead of the vaccination deadline, an email from management warned that failure to comply “will have consequences such as being subject to additional protocols and rules including leave without pay and the possibility of significant discipline up to and including termination.”.A total 224 employees tested positive for COVID at the time. The policy saw company vaccination rates increase from 75 to 96%, and no employees were fired to date, though 48 were suspended without pay..Unifor Local 973 challenged the company policy as onerous and unreasonable. .“There is no question that it is extraordinary for an employer to enact a workplace rule or policy that impacts an employee’s right to privacy and bodily integrity, but there can be no dispute the global COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary health challenge,” Wright said..“The union expresses concern that an employee’s decision to not get vaccinated is not made lightly,” Wright said. “Nobody gives up their regular salary unless they have a strongly held view about COVID-19 vaccines that may reflect political perspectives or lifestyle choices.”.“There is no doubt that this is true,” Wright said. “But it cannot in my view undermine the reasonableness of the policy.”.An employee’s personal beliefs cannot override the employer’s interest in doing everything possible to maintain the health and safety of the workplace, he said. Mandatory vaccination strikes a reasonable balance between an employee’s right to privacy and to bodily integrity and the employer’s right and obligation to protect employees, the arbiter said. .Nationwide, 85% of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. .Rachel Emmanuel is an Ottawa Parliamentary reporter for the Western Standard
