Today, the federal government announced it will lift the vaccination policy for all workers in federally regulated workplaces as of June 20, and allow workers who’ve been put on leave without pay because of their vaccination status to return to work without restrictions.

Treasury Board has also asked Crown corporations and agencies to suspend their vaccination requirements, and contractors accessing federal workplaces will no longer have vaccination requirements.

Unfortunately, the federal government did not consult with PSAC before making its decision to lift its vaccination policy. Unions should always be consulted on policies that have a major impact on the terms and conditions of employment of our members to protect their health and safety and their rights in the workplace.

Policy grievances for workers on leave without pay 

In March, PSAC filed policy grievances on behalf of our members who continued to be on leave without pay (LWOP) because of their vaccination status. We argued that continuing this measure was unnecessarily punitive.

Earlier this year, PSAC also launched policy grievances arguing the government’s policy placing full-time remote workers on leave without pay constituted an abuse of management authority because they posed no threat to the health and safety of their workplaces.