Due to the more contagious Delta variant from the COVID-19 virus, and at the direction of Ontario Minister of Transportation, Metrolinx will be requiring employees to be vaccinated.
Metrolinx is in the process of developing a detailed mandatory vaccination policy and implementation plan to be shared with all employees and released in the coming days.
Metrolinx says it has ensured there are no barriers for staff to get vaccinated – employees are provided time off to get their shots, provided easy access to vaccine clinics on site to make it convenient and opportunities to talk to public health experts. Metrolinx is also supporting the province’s efforts to get as many people vaccinated as possible by transforming two GO buses into mobile vaccination clinics.
Preliminary results from a recent internal survey found that approximately 81 percent of Metrolinx employees who responded (approximately 2,000 staff) are already fully vaccinated and another two percent had received their first dose. A mandatory policy for staff will help boost those numbers even higher and help recovery efforts.
“Our staff have been on the frontlines every day since this pandemic began and I am incredibly proud of the work they have done to keep essential transit services going and customers safe,” said Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster. “Many of our employees are already vaccinated but now we are facing a more contagious foe that could threaten the incredible progress we have made to control the spread. Our goal was and continues to be to ensure our teams and our customers have the highest protection possible.”
