St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union and members of civil society held protests in Kingstown, on Friday 10 December, against the government mandatory vaccination policy for frontline workers.
President of the Union Oswald Robinson told St Vincent Times that protests also took place on the Grenadine islands of Bequia, Canouan and Union Island.
Several schools have been engaged in what is termed a ‘Sit-In’ supporting their unvaccinated colleagues, since 28 November.
The Union President said on Wednesday (8 December) that over 60 percent of members responded to the call to strike on Tuesday 7 and Wednesday 8.
On Wednesday (8 December), Industrial Officer of the Union Andrew John said, the Union was informed that banks are denying loans to unvaccinated teachers.
While the IRO made the disclosure, the Union’s President sent a clear message to the financial institutions engaging in the practice.
“I am sending a message to the banks, if you are refusing to grant loans to those teachers who are unvaccinated, we would ask those teachers to withdraw their accounts from your banks”.
“We would also encourage the rest of the public not to patronize your service and to seek membership with the teacher’s credit union and other credit unions”.
“If we learn of other business places out there which are engaged in this type of action, then we would also encourage the masses not to do business with you”.
“This is wickedness in high places, and we cannot sit back idle”, Robinson said.
On Wednesday (8 December), Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said close to 200 hundred teachers in St Vincent and the Grenadines had sought medical or religious exemptions from taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
The deadline for vaccination of all frontline workers was 19 November.
Some 45 teachers sought medical exemptions, while approximately 150 sought religious exemptions.
Gonsalves said from the 150 teachers who applied for a religious exemption; he was advised that 17 of them were granted such. The Prime Minister said those exempted are from four particular denominations, which he has been advised have as a matter of doctrine, a [principle against vaccination].
The Union also announced on Wednesday (8 December) that Andre Lewis, a teacher from the Stubbs Primary school, died.
Andrew John, the Industrial Relations Officer, told St Vincent Times that following Lewis’s first dose of the COVID vaccine on 18 November, his health deteriorated.
On Friday morning (10 December), Prime Minister Gonsalves, while speaking on Star Fm said, he was advised by the Ministry of Health that there was no causation between the vaccine and the death of Lewis.
