[ad_1]
Tomas works as a car mechanic at the R2L car repair shop in Justiniškės. For two months he had a certificate of incapacity to work and was treated for an injury. He was due to return to work on November 23, but the day before he learned that several cases of COVID-19 had been registered at work.
“I had to go to work on Monday. On Friday I spoke with a colleague about how jobs work, how things work because I go back to work. He tells me, wait, maybe wait, because a colleague found coronavirus. He was still sick at first. of the week, he showed up, and at the end of the week he had a test. And the result was positive. Then three more colleagues took the tests and two more came back positive. ” 15 minutes he told Tom.
As far as he knew, the other four colleagues weren’t isolated or investigating, they just carried on like nothing was going to work. And that was the employer’s order.
He himself told me that three more were feeling bad. Two were tested on Sunday, one on Monday, and two of those three tested positive.
Tom himself decided to ask his employer if other colleagues really needed to be isolated.
“He himself told me that three more were feeling bad. Two were tested on Sunday, one on Monday, and two of those three tested positive. One who received the negative was told to isolate himself, and did the others also have contact? It’s impossible not to have him there, and he didn’t even do tests and he doesn’t think about doing it, ”Tom said.
The Vilnius resident is surprised that the employer behaved in this way, because after all, mechanics meet with customers and “land” their cars, so they can spread the virus widely. Furthermore, he was allegedly sent to work in dangerous conditions because the employer failed to release the men who had come into contact with infected colleagues in isolation.
“He tells me, go to work. If you are afraid, I am afraid too, write a vacation request by email. I wrote, I sent. Today, however, I found out that I am absent, that if I do not come another day, I will be fired from work. Well, let’s say, if he cares so much about the health and well-being of his employees, then I don’t need that job either, so I would risk my family’s health, ”Tom said.
Well, I’m a citizen, I do everything they ask of me, so what? I’m just going to lose my job
Neither the NVSC nor the police responded
Outraged at the potential employer’s negligence and putting the employees’ health at risk, Tom set out to seek justice. He called the hotline for advice, where he was advised to contact the police or the National Public Health Center (NVSC) directly.
“From my morning number and my wife’s, we tried to call the NVSC general number from the morning, we called maybe 200 times and all the operators were busy all day. In the morning of the same day, I wrote letters to NVSC and SAM explaining the problem Finally, at the end of the day, around 5 pm, a woman answered the call.
I emphasize the whole story again. And again, I cannot help anyone because as I understand my employer did not report anything about the COVID-19 outbreak in the workplace. Especially potentially low-risk exposure. Again, I do not explain that it is not an office to isolate everyone or to organize telework, it is a car service and common areas there, working, eating, bathing and changing in common areas and not even smelling when exposed to low risk. In a word, they can’t do anything again, “said Tom.
He also sent me there beautifully. They said that until they receive data and instructions from the NVSC, they will not take any action and will not go anywhere.
Then he called the police. After all, the procedures make it clear that people who come into contact with the sick must be isolated, and there are also penalties for failing to comply with isolation. But he also heard from the police that nobody can do anything.
“It just came to my attention then. He said that until I received data and instructions from the NVSC, they would not take any action and go nowhere. It is something I do not understand, everyone calls everyone to be civic, conscientious. I am civic and conscious and what is it? I did not receive any help, I did not receive any information and I am still on vacation, and the service is working successfully on the possible spread of the infection, “Tomás got angry.
Eventually, as Tom says, he himself risks losing his job and his employer will be fine.
“Well, I’m a citizen, I do everything they ask me, so what? I’m just going to lose my job ”, the man did not hide his pain.
Car service manual: we follow the rules.
Rimvydas Vaštakas Car Service Manager 15 minutes confirmed that coronavirus had recently been confirmed in several employees of the company. However, it ensures that all instructions are followed and that workers’ health is not endangered.
“It just came to our notice then. We followed the rules very strictly. We did everything the law required. We divided the employees into groups. I don’t want to tell you anything else. We divided into a particularly risky group and another group was one that it was risk-free. Everyone who was at particular risk was told not only to isolate themselves, but also to be controlled, and they were controlled. One case has yet been found. No others were found. There were three patients in all. One has already returned from isolation on doctor’s instructions, the other two remain isolated. They will be back on Wednesday and Thursday, “said the head of R2L.
R.Vaštakas assured that Tomas is really on vacation at the moment and absenteeism is not applied to him.
“It just came to our notice then. He said goodbye after the newsletter ended. I told him he had to go back to work because no one was sick with us and those at risk were isolated. Certainly not everyone had contact because of the 300 square meters. Surely everyone worked those days and there was no problem. Others return and no one gets sick. And that man is on vacation until now because he also asked for vacation this week. As much as he wants, I will give him that permission “, said the director of auto service.
Responsible NVSC
Ramūnas Matonis, Chief of the Communications Division of the Police Department 15 minutes indicated that the police could not respond to Tom’s complaint.
“We note that self-isolation issues are the responsibility of NVSC. After receiving a report from a citizen about a possible violation, they had to investigate it themselves, “he said.
The representative of NVSC, Justina Petravičien asegura, assures that the pandemic is an extraordinary situation in which the concentration of society and the proper assessment of the situation are more necessary.
“It is unfortunate that not all companies are responsible, that not everyone understands that isolating a person is a fundamental way to prevent the spread of infection. In other words, if one gets sick and we isolate other workers who have been Exposed to high risk, it means that the parts will not work temporarily, if this is not done in time, it means that we could have a big breakout when we have to suspend activities for a while.
It is unfortunate that not all companies are responsible, that not everyone understands that isolating a person is a fundamental way to prevent the spread of infection.
It is difficult to assess this situation without knowing all the circumstances, but it is important to note that NVSC prescribes isolation for people who are at high risk of exposure in an epidemiological study.
Generally speaking, if a person does not identify colleagues who may have had a risk exposure, as well as those people who may have had a risk exposure do not report it to the NVSC, there will be no way to assign isolation to those people.
This means that a lot depends on the conscience of the people in these types of situations ”, he points out.
NVSC also emphasizes that when it comes to testing, it is necessary to remember that even a test performed and a negative result does not mean that a person is not sick. The disease is known to have an incubation period of 14 days.
“And, as practice shows, it often happens that the test performed 2-3 days after the risk contact with the infected day is negative, the test is already positive on day 5 or 6. Therefore, the isolation it is a necessary condition to be sure that we will not infect those around us and that we will not contribute to the spread of the infection, ”says J.Petravičienė.
The employer must guarantee safe conditions
Jurgita Kažukauskaitė-Sarnickienė, communication advisor to the State Labor Inspectorate, pointed out that adequate, safe and healthy working conditions must be created for all employees. The employee himself must also comply with hygiene and safety requirements, even if not specified by the employer.
“If an employee believes that the employer does not provide safe and healthy working conditions, they have the right to file a complaint with the State Labor Inspectorate. An employee also has the right to refuse to work if there is a risk to their safety and health. You must inform the employer or the employer’s representative in writing of the reasons for the refusal. The motivated refusal of an employee to work cannot be considered a breach of their employment obligations.
Photo by Sigismund Gedvila / 15min / Quarantine in Vilnius
In this situation, the person works in a garage, where it is possible to protect people at risk of COVID-19 from becoming infected at work, that is, using personal protective equipment (medical mask, gloves) while maintaining a safe distance of 2 meters. The greatest danger lies in the common areas where people surf. The number and time of people must be limited. A mask must be worn in common areas, ”said a VDI representative.
According to her, the leave is granted according to a schedule or by agreement of the parties: the employee submits an application and the employer, if he agrees to grant the leave, formalizes it.
“If an employee has not received confirmation from the employer that they have been granted leave, then a mere request for leave does not in itself mean that they will be granted leave. In the above situation, the disagreement could be resolved in the Commission on Labor Disputes ”, explained Jurgita Kažukauskaitė-Sarnickienė.
[ad_2]
