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Last week, the government passed a resolution requiring some workers to test for Covid-19. Failure to do so will result in employees being fired or forced to work remotely.
The National Public Health Center (NVSC), which is responsible for testing workers, explained that checks on whether workers were working after the tests were carried out alongside other checks on compliance with the quarantine regime.
“The employer is responsible for testing employees and will face the fines of 1,5 thousand established in the Code of Administrative Offenses. up to 6,000, ”the NVSC said in a comment.
Employees have had their health checked before
Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian unions, said that the tests are exactly the same health exam that employees had to take before.
“This is defined by the Occupational Health and Safety Act. According to him, no employee can go to work until his health has been checked. After assessing the risks in the workplace, the employer highlights the risk factors and gives a list of them to the employee, according to which he must undergo a medical check-up.
The risk factors depend on the profession or position. The frequency of medical check-ups also varies. And if an employee refuses to undergo a medical checkup, the employer cannot allow him to work. An employer receives a heavy fine if its employees work without a medical check-up, ”explained the employee representative.
According to her, the currently approved coronavirus test is exactly the same health check.
“The only difference is that a new biohazard factor is being introduced. After all, there was no coronavirus before. So what’s new is just the disease, not the procedure by which workers are screened.
It is very strange that this decision caused such a stir. I think the government communication is to blame for this, it does not fully explain this process to the people. After all, even now, during health checks, employees donate blood or take X-rays. These inspections can be even more dangerous than the rapid coronavirus test, ”said I. Ruginienė.
The health exam is organized and paid for by the employer.
According to the president, employees don’t see any problems with health screenings, but not everyone wants to get tested for coronavirus.
“It may be that employers and employees confuse testing and vaccination. But these are two different things. Testing is a mandatory health check. And vaccination is something else that may not be mandatory. The vaccine is decided individually by each employee.
And the tests would give people the opportunity to feel comfortable not only at work but also at home. They could be sure that they would not infect their relatives. After all, the government means that if we test and identify the carriers of the virus, we can isolate them. And all other people will be able to live more freely. However, people are against testing, so entire communities must be isolated, ”said an employee representative.
According to her, the employer is responsible for any medical check-up.
“The entire organization of the health examination and if it is a paid procedure must be paid by the employer. In addition, the time of the employee’s health examination must be paid at the average salary. Medical examinations cannot be performed on holidays or vacations.
Therefore, the employer must also pay for coronavirus tests. In this case, the government reimburses the cost of the tests to help the company. However, even without this help, the employer would still be responsible for the tests, ”explained I. Ruginienė.
Employers had many questions
Eglė Radišauskienė, Director General of the Lithuanian Business Confederation, says employers support mandatory employee testing but lack clear information on this issue.
“Basically, we said from the beginning that it was better to test, apply the measures that are justified, but make the companies work and win, to be able to move freely.
In our minds, those tests are really necessary for the common goal of public health. Therefore, we support this goal, “said E. Radišauskienė.
However, he said, the decision to evaluate staff did not inevitably lead to mistakes that raised many questions.
“How was that done? Information was not provided normally, there were no guidelines on how and who would be evaluated. The companies were alarmed because they did not understand if such a requirement would apply to everyone here, or only to new companies.
Well, as always, the lack of information did its dirty work and certainly on Friday, when we made that decision to hurry up, we had many inquiries. But basically the great members of our association, so any supermarket is in favor of testing just to make it work ”, commented the CEO.
Who should take the test?
The government approved lists of areas that workers must inspect once before starting operations, as well as another list of areas where workers must inspect once every 7 to 10 days.
The list of activities for which workers should be tested for coronavirus before starting or resuming activities includes cultural and artistic workers, physical activity and high-performance sports, catering, retail, leisure and entertainment activities, such as bathrooms, swimming pools, discos. , bars, cinemas and other entertainment venues, people who work in the beauty services and accommodation sectors.
Workers in personal health care facilities, as well as persons providing cleaning, food supply, or other services providing hands-on training at such facilities, should be regularly monitored for illness.
This should also be done by people who provide social services in the beneficiary’s home or facilities and by cleaning, food, and other service providers at those facilities.
All persons providing educational services, including those working in educational institutions, self-employed teachers or educators working elsewhere, should also be regularly inspected. All pharmacy personnel should also be checked periodically.
Patients who are sick or vaccinated will not be required to be tested if they provide supporting documents.
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