August 17, 2021
Members of The Manitoba Teachers’ Society Provincial Executive voted unanimously in support of stronger health and safety measures by calling on the government to require all public school employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The motion, passed earlier today, is as follows:
THAT The Manitoba Teachers’ Society call on the Manitoba provincial government to require that all public school employees be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 except for those with a medical/religious reason for not being vaccinated.Â
FURTHER that employees not able to be vaccinated should be required to undergo regular COVID-19 testing.
“As teachers, we have a responsibility to act in the best interest of our students,” said MTS President James Bedford. “Research and medical experts across the globe have provided evidence that vaccination is the most effective way to fight COVID-19.”
Bedford said that a high percentage of students are unvaccinated simply because they are ineligible or are not fully vaccinated, and with the highly infectious Delta variant students are relying on others in their lives to keep them safe.
“The best place for students is in a classroom with a teacher, but those classrooms must be safe places for the teacher and all the students,” said Bedford. “Requiring proof of vaccination is the best way we can keep our students and teachers safe and help ensure that the return to school is not only safe, but sustainable.”