The CEO at Windsor Regional Hospital is encouraged after another healthcare system had an arbitrator rule in its favour.
According to an arbitrator's decision released last week, Lakeridge Health, based in Whitby but with hospitals between Toronto and Oshawa, was "reasonable" when it fired employees who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The ruling had been requested by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 6364, which represented the employees in question.
WRH President and CEO David Musyj said one of the issues was unpaid leave, as the union had asked why these employees were fired rather than put on it.
"Two of the issues the arbitrator looked at was 'When does that unpaid leave ever end?', and second of all, 'What are the chances of the hospital being able to recruit someone through a temporary job?'," said Musyj.
Musyj said while the arbitrator's decision does not have the same legal weight a judge's decision might have, it is still good news for Windsor Regional Hospital, which had placed a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy on employees. Musyj said that the vaccine requirement is no different from what the other employees need to have.
"There are 12 other vaccinations that hospital employees must have, and continue to have, while they work at a hospital," said Musyj.
Despite the ruling, Musyj said it does not guarantee the same result for WRH. There are about 30 grievances filed over the issue, though none have requested arbitration so far. A province-wide lawsuit had also been filed against multiple healthcare systems.
Separately, 20 City of Windsor employees filed a lawsuit in the fall of 2022 after being fired for refusing to get a vaccine or failing to provide a substantiated medical or religious exemption.
