Anyone who has to be vaccinated during working hours can invoke ‘little absence’ for this. However, Bouwunie fears that for construction workers this will often mean that they will be absent for the entire working day. The main reason for this is that the relocation to and from the construction site is mainly collective. According to the association, some sites run the risk of coming to a standstill during their absence, or not being able to continue at full speed and efficiently.
That is why Bouwunie is asking that the external prevention services also come to the site with vaccination buses. “An entire shift is vaccinated at the same time, and the practical drawbacks are eliminated. Our construction workers do not always work on sites near the vaccination centers or their place of residence. For example, if the crane operator is away for half a day, the delays quickly add up”, says Jean-Pierre Waeytens.
The vaccination task force says that this is not the case for the time being. “No vaccinations are carried out by external occupational health services,” said spokeswoman Gudrun Briat in De Zondag. “That only happens in the vaccination centers and they are also open after working hours. Construction workers can therefore make an appointment without having to take a short break.”
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