http://www.reddit.com/r/LockdownSkepticism/comments/ra5myi/canadian_employers_facing_labor_shortage/
Canadian employers, facing labor shortage, accommodate the unvaccinated
By Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer
4 minute read
A sign advertising available jobs at the Clocktower Brew Pub hangs in a >window in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Chris >Wattie/File Photo
A sign advertising available jobs at the Clocktower Brew Pub hangs in a >window in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Chris >Wattie/File Photo
OTTAWA, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Canada's tight labor market is forcing many >companies to offer regular COVID-19 testing over vaccine mandates, while >others are reversing previously announced inoculation requirements even
as Omicron variant cases rise.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government adopted one of the >strictest inoculation policies in the world for civil servants and has >already put more than 1,000 workers on unpaid leave, with thousands more
at risk.
Airlines, police forces, school boards and even Canada's Big Five banks
have also pledged strict mandatory vaccine policies. But following
through has proven less straightforward, especially as employers grapple
with staffing shortages and workers demand exemptions.
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Job vacancies in Canada have doubled so far this year, official data
shows, and vaccine mandates can make filling those jobs harder,
potentially putting upward pressure on wages. That could fuel inflation, >already running at a near two-decade high.
"It's already difficult to find staff, let alone putting in a vaccine >mandate. You'd cut out potentially another 20%" of potential workers,
said Dan Kelly, chief executive of the Canadian Federation of
Independent Business.
There are pitfalls to employing the unvaccinated. Companies run a higher
risk of COVID-19 outbreaks and many vaccinated employees are
uncomfortable working with those who have not had the jab, said industry >groups and marketing experts.
At Luda Foods, a Montreal-based soup and sauce maker, president Robert
Eiser said he has 14 open jobs, no vaccine mandate and no plans to
restrict new hires to the vaccinated.
"I don't know that I want to reduce the (labor) pool, which is already
quite low," said Eiser. "We need to attract people to meet the demand.
If we don't, our competitors will."
Data released on Friday underpinned Canada's tight labor market, with a
hefty 153,700 jobs added in November. It also showed a growing mismatch >between available workers and unfilled jobs. And job postings are far
above pre-pandemic levels.
Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics
Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics
WALKING BACK
The province of Quebec backtracked on a vaccine mandates for healthcare >workers last month, saying they could not afford to lose thousands of >unvaccinated staff. Ontario, which was also eyeing a mandate, said it
would not go ahead.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) and Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) have both >softened their vaccine policy to allow regular testing for workers who
missed their Oct. 31 inoculation deadline.
In Canada, 86% of adults are fully inoculated, though that drops under
80% among 18-40 year olds. At least 15 cases of the new Omicron variant
in Canada have been reported in the past week.
John Cappelli, vice president of onsite managed services in Canada for
global recruitment firm Adecco, said half of his clients are mandating >vaccines with the other half allowing regular testing for the unvaccinated.
But he expects the Omicron variant will prompt more workplaces to get
strict on vaccination, even as they grapple with the tightest job market
he's seen in his 25-year career.
"We are now starting to see our first workplace (COVID-19) cases in five >months," he said.
The number of Canadian job postings on search website Indeed mentioning >vaccine requirements has quadrupled since August.
Reuters Graphics
Reuters Graphics
In the hard-hit manufacturing sector, where 77% of firms say their top >concern is attracting and retaining workers, vaccine mandates are more rare.
Dennis Darby, CEO of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said most of >Canada's factories have operated safely throughout the pandemic. While
CME encourages vaccination, "some companies are still using rapid
testing if somebody doesn't want to get vaccinated," he added.
But companies risk a hit to their reputation if they are overt in
efforts to tap into the unvaccinated as a labor pool, said Wojtek
Dabrowski, managing partner at Provident Communications.
"If you go out and say, 'We are intentionally seeking to hire
unvaccinated people,' many customers are equating that with you being >anti-science and anti-safety," said Dabrowski.
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