In Italy, work, only with a passport of opportunities – in Lithuania, such an idea is viewed with caution

October 15 is the changeover date for those who work in Italy.

It is from this day that all workers in both the public and private sectors will be asked to present their employer with a green passport, a document that proves that the worker has been vaccinated, is sick or has a negative coronavirus test.

The government is reported to have taken such measures to prevent the spread of the virus and encourage vaccination in the country.

Refusing to present a green passport to an employer will not result in the dismissal of Italians, but it is explained that they will be subject to other measures. These individuals will be suspended and may no longer be paid.

The new requirements are estimated to affect some 18 million workers in the country. For those who cannot get vaccinated, Covid tests will be free and for everyone else, they are available at low cost.

In the past, this country has needed a green passport for anyone who wants to go to cinemas, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants, other public places where there can be a lot of people.

Lithuania has a reserved opinion of such an idea.

Virologist Saulius Čaplinskas told Delfi that if anyone in our country thinks that restrictive measures should not be taken due to the management of the pandemic, he hopes that there will not be many.

“Everyone must be attentive to the new reality, and some kind of restrictive measure, regulation, must be maintained,” he said.

For the example of Italy, if judged through the prism of Lithuania, the professor said that he seemed reserved.

“It means that the stick shouldn’t tip to either side.

There are sectors and many where, in a figurative sense, workers are not going to make furniture sitting on the sofa, on the one hand people have to go back to work, to factories.

On the other hand, experts understand that until the majority are vaccinated or infected, the virus will spread, and now every effort must be made to make people as safe as possible, and those who suspect they are infected do not. they must be tested. “He said.

According to S. Čaplinskas, now not only should the public be encouraged to get vaccinated, but more importantly, all questions about vaccines should be answered.

“A person needs to receive answers and that should be the main focus here,” he said.

Problems may arise, but support the solution

Andrius Romanovskis, president of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, said that, on the one hand, such regulation and a mandatory passport to work would be a good solution for those who wanted to work, but believed that it could cause a number of problems.

“Employers would say look, the state establishes the policy and you have to be vaccinated, but on the other hand, the greatest risk is the need for labor. Now there is a great need for manpower ”, he emphasized.

The trade representative clarified that he didn’t think there would suddenly be someone to work with, because about 70-80 percent. people are vaccinated, but the proportion who would not be eligible for such conditions and who would not have access to a passport would still emerge.

“In that case, there may be a problem in some positions on how to replace the employee. Suppose there are responsibilities that are fundamental for a company, it would be a challenge, “he said.

However, A. Romanovskis assured that the main risk groups in Lithuania are currently retirees.

“We just realized that we needed to protect at-risk groups and that we had to work with them, and the only way to do that was in the hands of the state, not the employers.

And the state has already decided that tests are needed to work in some sectors, “he said.

According to the spokesman, the correct and clear thing about the Italian decision is that politicians have made it clear how they see the management of the pandemic.

“They do not share the responsibility with anyone, they just say that it will be like this and that this is the way forward.

We believe that any decision that controls a pandemic is the correct one and the clearer and simpler it is, the better.

If there is such political will that everyone has to work with passports of opportunity, then we will support it, because any measure that controls a pandemic is the correct one, ”said A. Romanovskis.

Rye: That would be a mistake.

According to Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, even stricter restrictions may further divide society.

“We are already seeing the results of the coercive rhetoric used by the government. Everyone was happy that there had been an increase in vaccinated people, but I said there should be no joy, because in the long run, we will have the effect that people’s confidence in handling a pandemic will decrease. And that’s what’s happening.

People don’t trust vaccines, they don’t trust protective equipment like masks, disinfectant liquid. Now, as if for some people, the masks are recommended, and soon they may already be mandatory.

“If we take the tactic of putting even more pressure on people who are already sensitive enough, we will push those people even more,” he said about what it would be like to follow the example of Italy in our country.

I.Ruginienė said that now the scope of the tests in Lithuania, which in the case of Italy would also be suitable for obtaining a passport, is already so high in Lithuania that the population has to wait in line for several weeks, although the tests are mandatory. required only for some sectors.

“People call with great anxiety because they cannot register for the test. So what does it mean if everyone calls? Because now we have a situation basically similar to Italy, only there are fewer people to test, imagine, thousands of problems already.

Someone has the opportunity to take the test in three weeks, although the employer must present the result in three days. There are huge queues. In some regions, tests are not even recorded because all volumes have been exceeded, ”he said.

I.Ruginienė emphasized that until we have a good analysis of the situation due to the current restrictions, no new ones should be taken.

“It would be a big mistake to attack the Italian example immediately. We will anger the public even more, we will heat up the atmosphere in the workplace. And will it not happen then that suddenly there will be no one to work for?”, He thought.