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There seems to be a consensus among employer and worker representatives on this issue, arguing that allowing only those with passports to work would not be an effective means of controlling the pandemic.
It will not allow you to work without a passport.
According to the European news portal autonews.com, in mid-September Italy became the first European country to announce that workers could only come to work in their country with a green passport (of opportunity). This procedure should take effect on October 15.
The passport of opportunity in Italy can be withdrawn by vaccinated, sick or with a negative test result.
However, workers who do not meet any of these requirements would not be fired. Five days after the entry into force of the law, your ability to work without pay will be suspended.
Also, in some cases, unvaccinated residents will take their chances and be fined up to 1,500. Posted by euronews.com.
And although there is still no similar law in Lithuania, the Ministry of Health (SAM) has already submitted to the Government a draft amendment to the Law on Prevention and Control of Diseases Communicable to Humans.
It establishes that, after the declaration of a state of emergency or quarantine for a contagious disease, workers employed or carrying out activities on a list approved by the Government may only work after vaccination.
In that case, it would turn out that the representatives of all the professions listed in the Government would have to be vaccinated, so they could also get a passport of opportunity.
I don’t think it’s effective
According to Danas Arlauskas, president of the Employers’ Confederation, on the tv3.lt news portal, verifying the opportunity passport at the workplace would not be effective due to Lithuanian “cultural characteristics”.
“The mentality of the Soviet times still remains. People will start laughing, getting angry and hating that order. I still observe, as in all stores, cafes, where strangers really go is verified and mainly this (verification) is a process They (the inspectors) say: it is important that we look at the date. Consequently, it is possible to go with any stranger (passport of opportunities) and both are important to them.
He’s really very scrupulous in some places though, but for the most part I see he’s pretty lazy to look at all of this, yeah. “no “If someone came up with it, we will imitate it here,” says D. Arlauskas.
According to the employer’s representative, if someone were to be infected in a company and the case became known, the team would have a fear syndrome, which would force employees to behave more responsibly.
“Fear is one of the most important human instincts that somehow makes you be careful. I think in that case the employees would be scared for themselves and in that case I think they would tolerate such a procedure (inspection).
But under normal circumstances, everything will turn into a formality. I doubt the effectiveness of all this ”, says the president of the confederation.
However, he does not deny the need for such a measure at all; simply, as he says, it would not achieve the desired result due to the cultural characteristics of the people.
“What suits Italy is another mentality. It would work with us unless, as I said, there is an incident in a particular place.
Then everyone will get angry and say for themselves: let them verify that they do not infect us and that there are no problems. Not because there could be a problem for the company ”, says the president of the confederation D. Arlauskas.
Has other comments
For its part, the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation draws attention to slightly different issues. According to the president of the Confederation Inga Ruginienė, if the priority of the Government is safety in the workplace, it should also be acceptable that employees who do not want to be vaccinated can take the test.
However, the most important aspect, according to her, is that the opportunity passport in Lithuania, as a document, does not legally configure the employment relationship in any way.
“I could find out if the rules to achieve it were harmonized, as is the case with the employment relationship itself.
A fundamental mistake is when we use the phrase ‘passport of opportunity’ when it comes to vaccinations, tests in the workplace, and that is why we have a lot of problems: employers are starting to demand this document. And it turns out that an unvaccinated worker has to be tested every other day. And it confuses the whole system, ”says I. Ruginienė.
He adds that the confederation is somewhat hampered by the approval of the Government for the consideration of the SAM bill in the autumn session of the Seimas.
“It stipulates that people from certain professions must come to work vaccinated, unless they have certain contraindications verified by doctors. That list is approved by the Government each time. But there is also talk that employees also have the opportunity to take tests.
What hinders us the most is that the employee or the employer has to pay for this health exam. In the case of Lithuania, the employee would probably have to pay it. And we believe that this should not be the case, ”says I. Ruginienė.
She says that while the government’s goal in terms of employment is security, all its actions and measures are solely aimed at increasing the number of vaccinated by reducing opportunities for the unvaccinated population to get tested for free.
“It is not wrong to target herd immunity, which usually does not occur in one or two days, but develops in one or several years. But if we talk about safety in the workplace, here it is a little different. If employees want to make sure they are healthy, they must undergo a medical checkup. The tests take on great significance here.
(…) If the government were to make efforts to protect jobs, as Western European countries are doing, by introducing passports of opportunity in the workplace, there should be talk of a strong focus on testing in those countries. And everyone there is free to try.
In Austria, you can even take a test at a gas station. And it’s fully available at all times, you won’t waste any additional time and it won’t cost you a thing. In my opinion, such a system should also be in Lithuania, ”said my employee representative.
I. Ruginienė also points out that the Labor Code has been violated in Lithuania for some time, as unvaccinated employees often monitor their health during their free time.
“Although the code says that medical examinations required for work must be done during work or the time spent on them must be deducted from work time. These are the essential things here, ”says I. Ruginienė.
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