Airlines warn that unvaccinated employees will face termination
Amid the rise in number of Covid-19 cases across the world, two major airlines have made it mandatory for their employees to get vaccinated. Canada-based WestJet and United Airlines in the US have said employees who fail to get themselves vaccinated will face termination of employment.
Workers who routinely come in contact with passengers, such as flight attendants, gate agents and pilots, and whose exemptions are approved will face indefinite unpaid leave starting October 2. They won’t be allowed back on the job until the pandemic “meaningfully recedes,” according to one of the memos circulated by the Chicago-based company.
In the face of a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, many companies have come out with mask mandates and changed their vaccination policies.
Both the airlines did not reveal how many of their workers have been vaccinated or how many have turned down Covid-19 vaccination because of a medical condition or religious belief.
