GM have informed us that they will not be changing their Covid Vaccination Policy despite Ontario’s opening up plan. You will still be required to either prove you are fully vaccinated or have an approved exemption to work at GM.
Members who have an approved exemption were required to self test twice weekly starting in January, however those testing kits were not available at that time. The test kits have now been mailed to all members who have an approved exemption. For those members, the tests must be done on specific days. GM is informing us that failure to follow the instructions will be considered a Health and Safety violation and subject to a minimum 5 day suspension for the first offense.
Yesterday we attended a GM Council bargaining meeting in London. One topic that Local 88 tabled was the mask mandate. The Ontario government has begun opening up the province and at some point, when it is deemed safe, the mask mandate will likely end. We have asked that Unifor National join with the Union leadership at each location and request GM make the masks optional. GM should continue to provide masks for those that elect to wear them, however if Ontario drops the mask requirement, we believe GM should follow suit.