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It was inevitable that Air Canada enacted a vaccine mandate for all employees considering that Ottawa has required all transportation sector workers be vaccinated. As airlines need increased vaccination rates to boost their recovery, they must show signs of supporting vaccinations loudly.
Air Canada said on Wednesday it would require all employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as the fast-spreading Delta variant drives an increase in infections.
The move by Canada’s largest carrier was in line with a government mandate that workers in the transportation sector be vaccinated by the end of October and follows similar moves by other major companies, including United Airlines .
Workers who are not vaccinated by Oct. 30 will face termination or be sent on unpaid leave, Air Canada said. It has also made full vaccination a condition of employment for new employees.
However, the carrier will accommodate workers who cannot be vaccinated for reasons such as medical conditions.
Earlier in the day, Delta Air Lines said employees will have to pay $200 more every month for their company-sponsored healthcare plan if they choose to not vaccinate against COVID-19.
(Reporting by Sahil Shaw in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
This article was from Reuters and was legally licensed through the Industry Dive publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].
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Tags: air canada, covid-19, vaccinations
Photo credit: Air Canada is just another company to require all employees be fully vaccinated against Covid. Can Pac Swire / Flickr