By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
THE restaurant owner whose staff note sparked the debate over “mandatory” vaccines has sought to further justify his stance, saying: “I don’t want guests to come for sushi and leave with a COVID dessert.”
Michael Scott QC, who owns Old Fort Bay Town Centre-based Sushi Rokkan together with his wife, told Tribune Business he “doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about” after they outlined a policy mandating that the restaurant’s 30-40 staff take the COVID-19 vaccine unless they have a medical reason for not doing so.
Workers were told that failure to comply would see them reassigned from front-line posts to other duties or, in a worst-case scenario, suffer termination, but Mr Scott argued that this approach was the only way to ensure his business survives while remaining in line with the Health and Safety at Work Act’s legal stipulations to maintain a secure workplace.
“In my private capacity, I am subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act,” he told this newspaper. “That imposes upon me a duty to create a safe system of work so as not to endanger members of the public.
“On a practical level I don’t want to be in the invidious position of having guests dine in the restaurant looking for sushi and leave with COVID-19 as a dessert. If there is a vaccine available, why should people not want to be vaccinated?
“If members of the public get infected at the restaurant, not only do I fall afoul of the [Health and Safety at Work] Act but it will kill the business. Only a fool would not pay attention to this; this necessity.”
Mr Scott, in particular, pointed to sections four, five and seven of the Health and Safety at Work Act as imposing a legal duty on all Bahamas-based employers to protect both employees and customers in the workplace. He argued that companies could be held in violation of this requirement if they failed to take all necessary steps to prevent COVID-19 infections and spread.
John Pinder, the government’s director of labour; attorneys; and trade union leaders and labour activists have all argued that mandating workers take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of retaining their jobs is both illegal and unconstitutional.
They have also asserted that while the COVID-19 vaccine prevents someone from becoming seriously ill or dying if they catch the virus, it does not prevent an inoculated person from catching it and spreading the illness to someone who has not been vaccinated. To stop that, they are arguing that employers will have no choice but to constantly test all their staff - those vaccinated and those not.
However, Mr Scott said employer-employee relationships were “a matter of private contract”. He argued that employers can their private businesses “any way they see fit” and mandate certain things be done “within reason” so long as they are not illegal.
Pointing out that mass vaccination is the only pandemic exit route available to both The Bahamas and wider world, he warned that “everyone suffers” the longer it takes for this nation to reach so-called “herd immunity” where around 80 percent of the population has been fully inoculated.
“We have to do this as quickly as possible otherwise we cannot open the economy because we have not reached a point of herd immunity, and everyone suffers. I don’t understand this nonsense,” Mr Scott blasted to Tribune Business.
“I must also point out that Bhutan, an Asian country with 400,000 people, the same as The Bahamas, vaccinated their entire population in two weeks. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about.”
The well-known attorney also slammed as an “utter fallacy and nonsense” arguments that persons should not take COVID-19 vaccines because the likes of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) have given them “emergency use” rather than “full” authorisation for use.
This, Mr Scott said, was only due to the length of time required to review the vaccines, adding: “It has nothing to do with their efficacy.” And he also took aim at Obie Ferguson, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) president, for failing to distinguish between his role as chairman of the government-owned Hotel Corporation and his private ownership of Sushi Rokkan.
The pair have clashed several times over the past three years, with Mr Ferguson representing Bahamas Hotel Managerial Association (BHMA) members working at the Grand Lucayan, whose board Mr Scott chairs. The TUC leader argued that forcing Bahamian workers to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of their continued employment “takes us back to 1942” and the Burma Road riots.
Addressing a press conference, Mr Ferguson said: “The question of the vaccine: I heard the chairman of the Hotel Corporation, a government entity, made an announcement that he is going to make it a requirement for persons who want to continue to work....... it’s mandatory for them to take the vaccine. I just want to go on the record by stating categorically that is an illegal act.....
“No one... The constitution of The Bahamas does not permit for anyone to give that instruction, and have that kind of influence, with the physical situation of the individual. That’s a no-no. Disregard that because it doesn’t make sense.
“That will take us back to 1942, when the employer could tell you what to do, when to do it and how to do it no matter what the situation is. We are not going to go back to that, nor are we going back to 1958. We cannot go back to 1942 or pre-1942. We just cannot go back to 1958.”
Mr Scott, though, accused Mr Ferguson of “falling afoul over the fallacy I call the fallacy of the undivided middle” by not distinguishing between two different roles he holds. “He’s connecting two different statements,” he added.
Comments
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Let's get these vaccine passports ready! Have a passport? Live a normal life. Don't have one? Enjoy your couch. Let's do this!
DonAnthony 3 years ago
Amen. Tighten the vise on all these selfish Bahamians that want to avoid taking the vaccine. Soon it will be impossible to function in society without being vaccinated. Hope they enjoy the couch.
JokeyJack 3 years ago
Perhaps we should even designate an uninhabited island in the Ragged Island area (maybe one of those with the hurricane proof caves?) and by a certain date (July 9th?) ship all the unvaccinated sub-human dogs there - where they can live amongst their own kind and receive their daily beatings? That date will also ensure they cannot participate in Independence Day celebrations - which would certainly make no sense for those deliberately trying to imprison themselves.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Good idea!
DonAnthony 3 years ago
Excellent idea! Please forward to the competent authority so it can be implemented as as soon as possible.
ThisIsOurs 3 years ago
Yeah and they shouldn't be allowed to buy food or water either! Food stores and water depots are well known infection sites
JokeyJack 3 years ago
No, they will have their own food and water depot on the island and their own quack doctors who believe in bleach and HCQ. Maybe even a few palm readings to predict their bleak and dark futures?
ThisIsOurs 3 years ago
I agree! let them starve for all we care! and put a fence around that island so they cant escape too!
GodSpeed 3 years ago
imagine being this much of a boot licker lmao.
John 3 years ago
The reason the Food and Drug Administration has only approved the vaccines for emergency use is because the long term effects of the vaccines are not known. NONE have been around for at least a year. So by allowing them to be administered only under emergency orders removes liability from both the government and the manufacturers of the vaccines. Meaning that if something seriously was to develop from the vaccines, the liability of the government and the manufacturers will be limited. The fact is the vaccine is no silver bullet and ALL the safety protocols must be followed to ensure safety of workers and guests. A person who has been exposed to the Covid-19 virus developed immunity to it and the new strains that may develop. At least over a period of time. The experts are not certain how long the vaccines will remain effective and now say a booster shot may be necessary some six months after a person has been fully vaccinated to protect against new strains.
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Sissy...
rosiepi 3 years ago
And why would the WHO, the FDA, etc approve of any vaccines on emergency basis? They've been proven to save lives, and in the rare cases of those contracting Covid after being immunized, no one has died. The longer folks refuse to face facts and continue this community spread the more likely mutant variants develop.
DillyTree 3 years ago
Mr. Scott, I am a frequent customer and while I applaud your wish to keep your guests safe, I'd suggest taking the requirement one step further and require ALL of your GUESTS to show proof of a vaccine or negative testing prior to dining.
What's good for the goose...
Let's make this an equal opportunity process than just a one-sided bottom line option. Same requirements for everyone.
The more people vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to "normal". C'mon, let's not be selfish!
proudloudandfnm 3 years ago
Yup. Vaccine passports... All for it...
Bobsyeruncle 3 years ago
Good point. His non-vaccinated customers could still leave with their COVID dessert, served up by other COVID carrying customers.
GodSpeed 3 years ago
I hope he likes operating at a loss. Taking an experimental vaccine just to eat parasite filled sushi, not worth it.
tribanon 3 years ago
Decent and right minded Bahamians now only have to sit back and let these clowns do all of the talking. lol
ThisIsOurs 3 years ago
this is how it starts eh? I wonder if you'll have to wear a yellow star on your jacket if youre not vaccinated. Or be sent to a sensitivity training "camp". Where they can separate the superior citizens from the inferior ones...
rosiepi 3 years ago
These foolish comparisons to '1942' or the heinous practice of isolating and dehumanizing the Jewish people by the Nazis is out of line, though it seems clear who is lacking critical thinking skills here.
Don't all employees suffer is their place of business is closed due to an outbreak? What about the tourists being warned not to travel to the Bahamas because people are not following basic health guidelines, and the gov't is typically slow and inept especially in times of crisis?
Why can't folks understand that this is not the scenerio for prosperity?
JokeyJack 3 years ago
I agree. No relation to 1942. After all, what could be wrong with taking a shower, especially after a long train ride? The economic downturn has been a long ride, yes? What fool would refuse a shower? Smelling bad and spreading germs, those ignorant devils.
ThisIsOurs 3 years ago
I'm sure someone in 1942 said the same. no need for "us" to worry
TalRussell 3 years ago
Arthitmatic in so as not leave out of the PopoulacesLegalsised, the undocumented 81,111 Asian. Tagalog, Spanish, and Creole-speaking being, denied easy access to vaccines, then can absolutely rule out reaching community immunity** within this or any other century..., translation - no hope in hell be returning back anywhere close to what some has perceived as the envied, viable, most admired economy of the Caribbean, yes?
The_Oracle 3 years ago
I have confirmed that Medical insurers will not cover illnesses cause by the vaccine BECAUSE it was declared safe for emergency use only. Blood clots, Gran Mal seizures.....Loss of income, Is Mr Scott going to cover those bills and pay his staff while they recover? Will NIB pay out sick leave if one is sick from an adverse reaction? If the shots were for a proven long standing Vaccine such as MMR, Yellow fever, Malaria, it would be understandable, and those vaccines are routine, proven. but no blind studies have been done.Aside the great global experimental one now being pushed and pushed hard. This has been rushed "to market" and yes, this is an economic market newly created. Major money is being made. Driven by Governments Coercing their people to be a part of the grand experiment. At the end of the day, remember it is the political driving this buss, making the promises, now offering the enticements, just as they do at election time. They never deliver or so much as apologize either. I personally want time to make my personal decision as to wether I will take the vaccine or not.
themessenger 3 years ago
As your employer I might not have the right to mandate your being vaccinated, but I can sure as God made little apples demand that you and anyone else wishing to enter my establishment provide me with a negative Covid test result less than five days old in order to enter. Obviously for the staff those weekly tests would be at their own expense, no brainer really, weekly testing at your own expense or free vaccine twice.
tribanon 3 years ago
No problem. Just make sure you're complying with the law and also that you're demanding the same testing from all the patrons of your establishment lest you find yourself on the wrong side of a serious discrimination law suit. lol
themessenger 3 years ago
Hence my words “you or anyone else” no discrimination there.
themessenger 3 years ago
300,000 Covid cases in 24 hours in India. They don’t do vaccines or wear masks there either.
tribanon 3 years ago
Most Bahamians may not know that both Scott QC and Smith QC are partners in the same law firm, namely Callenders & Co. You wouldn't think these two could work in the same law firm given that Scott treats his restaurant's Bahamian employees like they are his personal property, to do with as he sees fit, whereas Smith treats the lawbreaking Haitians he purports to represent as if they should have more rights and freedoms than Bahamians do. How odd.
themessenger 3 years ago
It’s not so much that employers like Scott treat their employees as personal property. Far too many Bahamians are all too happy to sit down with you and agree to terms of employment, then after one month on the job said terms are conveniently forgotten, “I een doing dat, you mussy t’ink I’se a slave ay? Dat ain my job bey! You want me do dat I need more money.” I going to da Labor Board! Such are the facts of life in the average day of the Bahamian employer.
tribanon 3 years ago
Employers known for mistreating their employees inevitably end up having to hire the worst that our available work force has to offer. And it's amazing that certain business owners prefer to pay the dear price associated with all the things you mention rather than mend their ways and treat their staff fairly.
To the maximum extent possible, everyone deserves to be treated with common human decency and employees are certainly entitled to earn a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. The better and more successful business owners know this golden rule only too well. It usually allows them to attract the best our work force has to offer.
tribanon 3 years ago
P.S. "Everyone"....except of course our corrupt politicians and those who willingly aid and abet their wrongful, and ofttimes illegal, acts and deeds. lol
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