Tourism bosses caution against forcing staff to take COVID tests, jabs

Senior tourism executives have cautioned hoteliers and other tourism operators against mandating staff to take the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo frequent testing for the virus.

At the same time, Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Chief Executive Officer Senator Rudy Grant and Chairman Geoffrey Roach said the association would continue to work with Government and labour unions to find a “compromise” on the hot button issue.

Already, several cruise lines have indicated that once they resume sailing next month they prefer to do business with tour operators and other third-party firms whose teams have either been fully vaccinated or are being tested regularly, given that they will be cruising with passengers that are fully vaccinated.

The caution also comes on the heels of a hotelier withdrawing a proposal to enforce mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing of unvaccinated employees.

At a media conference on Thursday, the BHTA officials said the matter of testing and vaccinations was sensitive and required a lot more discussion.

But they agreed that tourism operators here should continue their education campaigns and “encourage” staff members to take the jab as it becomes available.

So far, the average rate of vaccination at most hotels across the island is between 30 and 35 per cent, with a few properties reporting upwards of 60 per cent vaccination rate of their staff, the BHTA reported.

Roach told reporters: “The intention from the ships from what we are seeing is to protect the bubble that they are going to create.

“The truth is that even for land-based tourism, we have been getting some enquiries from persons who want to travel about whether the teams at the properties are fully vaccinated.”

But given a constantly changing environment, Roach quickly added that while the emphasis would continue to be on safe travel, he was not in a position to say what requirements could be coming in the future.

While Government has reportedly completed the new COVID-19 guidelines for cruise tourism which is scheduled to begin towards the end of next month, the BHTA officials said they were yet to see them.

Roach stressed that the issue of vaccination and testing of tourism and hospitality workers needed to be addressed from all angles, suggesting that education will be the most critical component.

Senator Grant insisted that the pros and cons must be weighed carefully as the matter is discussed. He disclosed that the BHTA had therefore started talks with the industry’s main labour union, the Barbados Workers Union.

He said: “There needs to be the recognition of the need to get this industry back and functioning again without in any way trying to deny the rights of individuals.

“We have had some discussion with the Barbados Workers’ Union and they have indicated that they were willing to collaborate with us in terms of facilitating a higher level of education to workers with respect to the taking of the vaccine. We do have to address this very challenging issue.”

Stressing that there was no policy by Government mandating testing or vaccination, the BHTA CEO warned tourism operators here “it is very important that there is continuous discussion and consultation with the workers”.

He added: “It is an area that is of significant concern to the BHTA because this industry is expected to provide the impetus for the anticipated growth, particularly during the winter period and we are getting persons expressing concern as to the level of employees that have received the vaccine and are being tested.

“But it has to involve a lot of consultation and dialogue.”

While suggesting that it could be helpful to go property by property to educate staff about the vaccine, Senator Grant said the BHTA is in the process of seeking a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport and the BWU to further discuss the issue and what the next steps could be.

“We have to find that happy compromise where we can ensure that persons are able to continue to function in such a manner that the industry is able to thrive and that we are able to facilitate the recovery that is anticipated of this industry,” he said.

The day before, Minister of Health Lt Col Jeffrey Bostic made clear that there was no law in Barbados requiring individuals to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

But at least one lawyer has so far suggested that mandatory COVID-19 vaccination was not a far-fetched idea for health workers in the future. (marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)