NCB Will Implement Vaccine Mandate on STAFF

As reported by the Jamaica Observer, The National Commercial Bank (NCB) will make it mandatory that staff members are vaccinated starting next month.

The ruling was announced yesterday by NCB’s Financial Group President and CEO Patrick Hylton who also spoke about the toll that COVID-19 has taken on the company, with three members having lost their lives to the deadly disease.

Hilton said, “Unfortunately, our NCB team has had almost 200 confirmed cases since March 2020, and we have experienced the heartbreak and extreme pain coming from the deaths of three members of our NCB family.”

Hylton also stated that, “Vaccines have emerged as the most effective measure to minimise transmission of the disease, prevent deaths and minimise hospitalisation from serious COVID-19-related illness. COVID-19 deaths are now occurring almost entirely among the unvaccinated.”

The bank will be requiring that the staff members who refuse to abide by the policy to present a negative PCR test every week until vaccinated, effective November 3, 2021.

At the start of November, staff members who are vaccinated will need to show a vaccination card as proof that they have taken the vaccine, either one or two jabs.

Workers who refuse to take the vaccine will have to take the PCR test each week at their own expense which will turn out to be costly.

“Employees who have not received the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by October 31, 2021, and are unable to produce a current PCR test result and, consequently, are unable to attend work, will be required to take the days on which they are absent as unpaid leave,” said Hylton.

The debate on this decision by NCB is heating up online. One persons was questioning why more are not talking about this topic, clearly against the move while another was more upbeat about the mandate, stating that he can’t wait for some persons to leave because he has wanted to get a job at the bank for a while and he’s willing to take the jab.

NCB is the latest in a group of local private companies that will institute a policy of mandatory vaccination.

The National Commercial Bank is Jamaica’s largest financial services provider employing between 1,000 to 5,000 persons.

This announcement came on the heals of the Prime Minister Andrew Holness making it increasingly clearer that a national vaccine mandate is on the horizon for Jamaica.