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A safe Public Service in the pandemic in 2022

The Public Service Board must take steps to make sure public servants have fair and clear guidance on and access to Rapid Antigen Tests, and access to adequate pandemic leave.

A Safer Public Service needs an updated COVID-19 response.

The Public Service Commission must commit to updated policies for Rapid Antigen Tests in the Public Service and increased pandemic leave for public servants.

The COVID 19 pandemic continues to dominate the news and impact the working lives of public servants. In 2020, there were lockdowns and stay at home orders. In 2021, there was vaccination leave, more lockdowns and border challenges. In 2022, vaccine mandates and the overload of PCR testing are so far the headline stories.

The public service, through union member advocacy, has lead on clear policies on Pandemic Leave, working from home, and vaccination mandation. However, there are areas that need to catch up. Together members know that vaccine mandates are part of a workplace health and safety response to a pandemic, but they cannot be and are not the only response.

Returning to office environments and moving workers in and out of isolation means there need to be clear, consistent policies on the use of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) and when they will be required. Public servants need to know what their employers expect from them with testing for returning to work post infection, when testing will be used by the employer and how the employer plans to use RATs in the workplace health and safety approach to the pandemic.

Public servants also need to have access to pandemic leave that is adequate to cover them - nearly 2 years after the introduction of leave, many public servants have run out and are being forced to improvise. The Public Service Board and Public Service Commission must immediately give public servants access to additional leave.

We are calling on the Public Service Board to direct the Public Service Commission to immediately amend the Employment Arrangements in the Event of a Health Pandemic (Directive 01/20):

- to allow a Chief Executive to grant an additional 20 days of “Special Pandemic Leave” where a Public Servant has exhausted the initial entitlement

- to explicitly provide an entitlement for Public Servants to access paid leave to travel to, attend and recover from their COVID-19 vaccination

- to reflect the changed test and quarantine requirements under public health orders and to provide Rapid Antigen Tests  free to public servants where possible