Southwest Airlines makes concessions, cancels regulations that force unvaccinated employees to take unpaid leave

Reporter : Chen Beichen / Editor: Lin Qing / https://www.ntdtv.com/gb/2021/10/19/a103247196.html

Image : On 11 October 2021, two Southwest Airlines planes stopped at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI). (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

                                            

After various disputes over compulsory vaccination of employees, Southwest Airlines recently made concessions to allow unvaccinated employees who apply for religious or medical exemptions to be exempted from taking unpaid leave before 8 December. 

The news was widely reported by the American media on Tuesday (19 October). The day before, hundreds of Southwest Airlines employees just protested outside its company headquarters.

According to a CNBC report, Southwest Airlines’ senior vice president of operations and hospitality affairs Steve Goldberg and chief personnel officer Julie Weber stated on the 15th that they would cancel the compulsory concession. Employees who are exempted from vaccinations "take unpaid leave."

They stated that these employees can continue to work during the application period, but must abide by the company's mask and social distancing regulations. Its employees can apply for an exemption before 24 November, and the company will continue to pay wages during the review period. However, new employees must still show proof of vaccination.

In addition, if the employee's request for exemption is rejected, but "there is new information or circumstances that the company would like to consider", the application can still be resubmitted.

The statement read, "This is a change from the previous notice. Initially, we informed these employees that they would be given unpaid leave, but this is no longer the case."

A Southwest Airlines spokesperson told The Capitol, “Southwest Airlines encourages all employees to receive covi vaccination because the airline must work hard to meet federal requirements for government contractors.”

"The airline intends to approve all valid medical or religious exemption requests. If the request is not approved, the company will provide sufficient time for employees to continue to work and comply with safety protocols for full vaccination."

According to the executive order signed by Biden, employees of the federal government and federal contractors must be vaccinated, and cannot be replaced by "regular testing."

Last week, Southwest Airlines Chief Executive Gary Kelly said that he believes that private companies should not force their employees to vaccinate, but because the federal government requires all government personnel and federal contractors to implement compulsory vaccination orders, the company had to complete the requirements before 8 December 2021.

But the move triggered hundreds of employees to protest outside the Texas headquarters on Monday. They held various placards, including "Freedom Not Force", "Acupuncture or work: what kind of choice is this", " Support (Texas) Governor Abbott’s ban on vaccine injunctions" etc.