BARRHEAD-County of Barrhead municipal employees must adhere to the provincially mandated mask requirements.
If they do not adhere to the requirements, county manager Debbie Oyarzun told councillors during their Oct. 26 meeting, there will be consequences, including for multiple violations, their dismissal.
The policy has been in place for about three weeks.
"I have spoken to council previously about employee-based face-mask wearing and some of the challenges that I had experienced," she said.
To overcome those challenges and ensure county staff understood their responsibilities and obligations regarding the provincial mandate, Oyarzun felt it was necessary to have a policy in place.
She added Policy HR-004 (Employee Face Masking) mirrors the provincial masking requirements and was created in consultation with staff.
Under the provincial mandate, people must wear a mask in all indoor public spaces, workplaces and places of worship. There are few notable exceptions, such as if a person is alone in their workspace, there is a physical barrier, or they cannot wear a mask for a medically approved condition. The latter requires a medical exception letter from an authorized health professional.
The policy also includes additional provisions such as maintaining at least two-metres physical distancing, frequent hand washing, staying home when ill and frequent cleaning of commonly touched surfaces.
It also states that employees cannot bully, intimidate or harass a fellow staff member who has a "bona fide exemption" or employees who adhere to the face-masking requirement.
The policy allows staff to use their face mask provided it meets the approved definition (i.e. a medical or non-medical mask or face covering that fully covers a person's nose, mouth and chin) and is business appropriate. It also notes that the municipality will provide standard, disposable masks to staff and the public.
"What we wanted to do was to make sure staff are aware of the consequences of not masking," Oyarzun said, adding before the policy there was little that she or other administration could do. "The analogy I use is speeding. Yes, you can speed, and you might not get caught, but if you do, here are the consequences."
Consequences include: for the first offence, a verbal warning; for a second offence a written warning is added to the employee's personnel file; for a third offence, an employee will receive another written warning added once again to their personnel file, along with a one-day unpaid suspension.
"If there is a fourth offence, and I hope we never get past the first offence, there is dismissal with just cause," she said.
When the province lifts the mandatory indoor masking requirement, Oyarzun said she would rescind the policy.
Coun. Walter Preugschas was concerned about being potentially challenged, especially by those dismissed after four violations.
"They can challenge it, but it won't be successful," Oyarzun replied. "I'm not trying to introduce anything outside what the provincial regulations are."
Coun. Bill Lane asked about vaccinations.
"Do we have a record of who has been vaccinated? "I think it is very important to know (the vaccination status of employees) because we are talking about people's safety."
The short answer, Oyarzun said, is no.
She added that she is fairly confident that the municipal office staff are double vaccinated, although the county doesn't have any information regarding an employee's vaccination status.
Oyarzun did not want to hazard a guess about public works staff.
"Supervisors may know because, under provincial legislation, employers need to give employees time off to get vaccinated if they request it, but if they did it on their own time, they didn't necessarily have to tell anyone," she said.
Oyarzun added she was hesitant to broach vaccination, partly because if staff adheres to the masking requirement, physical distancing and the other public health measures, it wouldn't be necessary.
"If this works, we will not have to go to declaration of vaccination status or mandatory vaccination. There are several municipalities, levels of government, businesses and organizations who have gone that way because of their higher level of contact with the public that have decided to go with mandatory vaccination," she said, using the example of municipalities that operate swimming pools or other recreation facilities. "Through our hazard assessments, right now, we feel we have adequate protection in place to protect the public and staff."
Oyarzun said if she were to consider bringing in a mandatory vaccination declaration or requirement, she would want council's full involvement.
Preugschas asked if the county decided to go the mandatory vaccination route, would it mean the end of the masking requirement?
Oyarzun said no, noting the mandatory masking requirement was a provincial mandate and is independent of vaccination.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
