The Local has received many inquiries regarding the College’s vaccination policy that have two common themes:
1) what is the union’s response to the requirement to be vaccinated?
2) is it even safe to provide medical information to the employer?
It is important to understand that the College has clearly indicated that members who are not vaccinated by the commencement of the Winter 2021 term will not receive contracts for that semester if P/L, or be subject to suspension without pay if FT. As with objection to any College policy or practice, members are encouraged to comply and grieve if they wish, but not refuse to comply. We understand that this can be a very difficult decision, however we have confirmed with OPSEU Central that comply-and-then-grieve is currently the best action supported by our Collective Agreement. It is also important to realize that the College is applying this policy to all members, whether teaching online or in person in the Winter 2021 semester, as a matter of equity. Irrespective of one’s position on the reasonableness of this decision, the policy will apply to all members.
With the current timeline for compliance, the Local has pursued the second question aggressively. The security and privacy of our members’ information, especially medical information, is always a central concern. The Local has been able to re-confirm with App Armour, the company behind the Seneca Safe App, through the College’s Privacy Officer:
1) the medical data collected will only be stored within Canada keeping the data within our jurisdiction is critical to ensure Canadian legislation around the collection, storage, and use of medical information is enforcible. Data is encrypted and stored on Microsoft Azure Canada East and Canada Central locations only.
2) a new option has been added to Seneca Safe, that permits members to upload only the QR code to the app. Thus only the QR code would be stored and automatically accepted as proof of vaccination. As a reminder the QR code works with the Verify Ontario app, and Ontario government has assured us that the code only returns verification of vaccination, and does not return any additional medical information.
To ensure members are not subject to suspension or loss of contracts, the Local is recommending that members upload their QR code to their Seneca Safe app as soon as practical, after which members are welcome to contact their steward or their chief steward to continue discussing their concerns.