Transit disruption as mandatory vaccine policy comes into effect

As of today, mandatory proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required of all employees, council members, contractors and volunteers working for the city who do not have an exemption. 

A small group of people protested outside Windsor city hall as the mandatory policy for municipal employees took effect. In a news release Monday afternoon the city said the percentage of staff confirming vaccination status or an approved accommodation has risen from 78 per cent last week to about 91 per cent as of Nov. 15.

Even with the increase in the percentage of City of Windsor staff confirming vaccination status or an approved accommodation, the city said some services will still be disrupted, and at this point, it is clear that Transit Windsor service needs to be adjusted.

The city said the staffing challenges at Transit Windsor will lead to service disruptions this week due to the significant number of operations and maintenance staff deemed to be non-compliant with the vaccination policy, and this will force the service to move from its current full service to an enhanced Saturday service model effective Nov. 21. 

"Service will continue, but there will be fewer busses in rotation, and unfortunately delays should be expected," executive director Tyson Cragg said. 

"This will not apply to the school extra buses; those will remain a priority. We apologize for any impacts and thank residents and riders for their understanding."

Riders are urged to check the Transit Windsor website for updates and use the Transit App for real-time arrival information.

Stan Whittaker, who became a municipal employee in June, said workers were being put in a position where they have to get a vaccine or they can't work. He was at city hall Monday morning to protest the mandatory policy.

"That's a huge overreach of the power of our employer," Whittaker told CBC Windsor.

"It's something that shouldn't happen. There's no accommodation even being put forward for us."

According to Whittaker, testing is a viable option to keep a safe workplace. He said there are other industries in the city and other nearby municipalities that are allowing testing.

"We're very frustrated. Our union is not representing us the way we should be and it makes the whole fight more difficult because instead of just fighting directly for our jobs like we should be with our union, we have to fight our union first," he said. 

"We have no income now, Christmas is around the corner … There are people in Windsor who are willing to stand up and fight this. This isn't right."

Ron Lafferty said he got the first dose of a vaccine today because of the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy.