New York City fired 1,430 of its municipal workers on Monday for failing to adhere to the vaccine mandate, news agency The New York Times reported. Another report by the New York Post revealed that 36 New York Police Department personnel, 25 fire department workers and 914 department of education workers were fired for not taking one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
News agencies highlighted last week that 4,000 workers’ fate was hanging in the balance for not getting jabbed with one shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. By Monday, barring 1,430 workers who constitute 1% of the entire workforce, most got vaccinated. The percentage of employees fired may be low but the firing marks the largest mass termination of municipal employees in the US for not adhering to a vaccine mandate.
“City workers served on the frontlines during the pandemic, and by getting vaccinated, they are, once again, showing how they are willing to do the right thing to protect themselves and all New Yorkers,” New York mayor Eric Adams was quoted as saying by the New York Post. Adams thanked the majority of employees for getting their jabs.
“Our goal was always to vaccinate, not terminate, and city workers stepped up and met the goal placed before them. Out of all the new city employees who received notices two weeks ago, only two who worked last week are no longer employed by the city,” he further added.
However, vaccine mandates are hotly debated in the Western democracies and have raised questions related to basic human rights. There were also protests against the firing and workers’ unions also contested the vaccine mandate.
Despite the vaccine mandate, at least 9,000 additional city workers remain unvaccinated and could be fired. Most of these workers have either filed for medical or religious accommodations or exemptions or are working with workers’ unions to avoid being fired from their sources of livelihood.
All New York City workers are required to receive one dose of the vaccine according to a rule brought forth by former New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. The city teachers earlier took the matter to the US Supreme Court but the court rejected the request for an appeal. The courts have ruled in favour of the mandates.
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