Bulletin
BC Transit – Changes to BC Vaccine Card requirement and your workplace
April 12, 2022
To: All MoveUP members at BC Transit
As you may be aware, as of Friday at 12:01 a.m. in British Columbia, the BC Vaccine Card is no longer in effect. This means that events, services and businesses that were previously required to check for proof of vaccination status will no longer be required to do so.
For our members who work at BC Transit this should not have any significant impact at your workplace as there was not any previous requirement for the public to show proof of vaccination to access services. There may be some changes, such as in-person meetings with external parties no longer requiring proof of vaccination. It is up to individual businesses and organizations to choose whether they wish to continue requiring the BC Vaccine Card on their premises.
The health and safety of our members is paramount. As these changes come into effect, we will be continuing to monitor health and safety plans at your workplace, listening to our members’ concerns, and working with your employers to recommend new safety protocols and procedures, or to tweak existing ones.
It is important to note that the discontinuation of the BC Vaccine Card is not connected to your employer’s vaccine mandate. The vaccine mandate policy that your employer has introduced remains in effect. For our members who are not comfortable with receiving the vaccine, we continue to work on their behalf to ensure the mandates are reasonable for the nature of their work and will continue to deal with any grievances as they arise. We are still waiting for a decision from the Labour Relations Board on the Section 54 application that has been filed and the policy grievance remains in abeyance pending a determination that any aspect of the vaccine mandate policy is determined to be unreasonable.
As we have throughout the pandemic, we continue to encourage all our members to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. Vaccines are safe and the most effective way to combat the spread of COVID-19, and to ensure that you, your colleagues, and your loved ones remain safe.
In solidarity,
Shawn Lakusta
Union Representative