The president of the Yukon Employees’ Union (YEU) is not happy with the state of affairs regarding the territorial government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for public employees.

Steve Geick told the Star this morning there’s not a lot the YEU can do to resist the implementation of the policy while the state of emergency is in effect.

He said much the same thing in a letter to his members that was posted on social media.

“With the reinstatement of the state of emergency, the Yukon government has effectively turned an unseen employer policy into a law enforceable by CEMA officials.”

Geick said he received a notice from the government eight minutes before the start of Wedensday morning’s press conference after the cancellations of several high-level meetings with YG officials in recent weeks.

At that event, Premier Sandy Silver announced employees who decline to be vaccinated will be placed on leave without pay after Jan. 30, 2022.

“The union has not yet seen any version of a proposed policy, not even a draft,” Geick wrote in the letter.

“Today’s announcement confirming mandatory vaccine requirements comes as little surprise. We’ve seen our meetings with decision makers cancelled and our deadlines ignored as we attempt to engage in genuine consultation with the Yukon’s largest employer.

“And while we support a vaccine policy to protect workers, we stand firm that this government could have done much more to protect workers from job loss by exploring alternatives including remote work and rapid testing; it’s working in other jurisdictions and could work here.

“The best course of action for workers has always been vaccination against this virus, and we hope those whose employment is in jeopardy will consider their positions in light of the government’s announcement,” Geick added.

“We will do what we can to defend the rights of workers with legitimate medical contraindications or whose religions have theological objections to vaccinations,” Geick said.

“The reality of emerging case law indicates that there is little we or any union can do; personal choice is not a protected ground under human rights legislation.

“The employer is clear in their intention to make vaccination a term of employment both in policy and by the legal means available to them under the Civil Emergency Measures Act.”

Geick said the YEU supports vaccination as an important occupational health and safety tool.

“We will continue to explore our options as we seek to address the government’s heavy-handed, clumsy and non-consultative process, and we will update members as we move forward,” he wrote in the letter.

“We are awaiting answers to many questions around maintenance of employee benefits and pension contributions for those who will be placed on leave without pay.”

The YEU represents more than 6,000 workers, of whom 4,000 are Yukon government employees, he said.

He said no numbers are available as to how many workers the vaccine mandate could affect, but most estimates suggest 20 per cent of workers remain unvaccinated.

He said he is very concerned about the impact to small non-government organizations which will still be affected by the sweeping scale of the mandate.

Many of those NGOs operate with a skeleton staff, Geick noted, and may have to shut down if their workers are placed on unpaid leave.

He said he has seen figures on the rates of overtime to workers currently.

“I’ve never seen overtime rates this high,” Geick said.

“It won’t take much to cripple organizations ... or the government, for that matter.”

The other public sector field he is particularly worried about is health care.

If too many of those workers go on unpaid leave because they are unvaccinated, the entire system could collapse, Geick suggested.

NDP Leader Kate White told the Star this morning she favours the government’s vaccine mandate.

She said she believes vaccines are the safest form of combatting COVID-19, although she would like to see the Yukon introduce some of the other vaccine options rather than relying on Moderna or Pfizer.

That might alleviate some of the vaccine hesitancy among the population, White added.

As for public sector employees being placed on unpaid leave, White said she doesn’t know how many people that will affect – and that won’t be obvious until after the Jan. 30 deadline.