The Nephew (an apprentice electrician) sent me this message that his mate received from his employers. I was gobsmacked.

Firstly, it is illegal. If you have an employment contract for fixed hours you cannot be stood down with no pay if your employer has no work for you. Furthermore, an employer cannot make you take annual leave unless it is agreed two weeks earlier.

If vaccination is a condition of employment that was not previously in your employment contract, then it needs to be agreed to for it to become part of your contract.

These points don’t even touch on the Human Rights aspect of the invasion of privacy into your medical conditions or the status of your vaccination.

Most importantly to me, and the saddest aspect of this message, is that it is a terrible way to treat people who work for you. Conveying that decision via email without the decency of having a discussion around it is beyond civilized words for me to describe.

There are issues regarding the “Are you vaccinated?” question that people should stop and think about.

Somebody could be vaccinated but due to an underlying condition the vaccine won’t work well for them. According to the employer’s message, this person would still be able to work even though they pose the same risk as if they were unvaccinated.

If someone has an underlying condition meaning they can’t be vaccinated, are they then being made redundant?

If you hadn’t already booked your vaccination and received this message from the employer you would be looking at a potential stand down period until such time as you can get the vaccine. How are you and your whanau supposed to survive in that time? Who is supporting you?

The employer offered no support to assist anyone to get vaccinated, nor did the employer ask for feedback or say that they were discussing the issues with their clients.

Do you feel incensed about the situation? Do you feel outraged that these apprentices are being taken advantage of?

Welcome to the world of misinformation. I have no doubt that the message is real, however I was only sent an extract. For all I know that employer may have addressed all the issues of concern to me.

It does however, raise the question, “Are we within the Church being kind to each other when it comes to vaccinations?” When NZ reaches a 90 percent vaccination rate, how kind will you be to unvaccinated people who wish to participate in public worship with you?

If you try to insist on finding out someone’s vaccination status are you also going to confirm if they have had a recent prostate check or mammogram? After all, more people in NZ have died from cancer than have died from Covid-19.

How are you supporting people to be vaccinated and removing the barriers that might stop them from getting there?

Sinoti Samoa have been encouraging vaccinations by providing free shuttles to get people to and from vaccination centres. Vahefonua Tonga have organised mass vaccination events. Mum and dad’s marae offered a vaccine, with a cup of tea, a biscuit and a kōrero.

Key messages are still relevant whether you are vaccinated or not:

Ø Stay home if you are unwell

Ø Wash your hands frequently

Ø Wear a face mask

Ø Wash your hands again.

We are a team of 5 million. Be kind.

Ko te mea nunui, ko te aroha The most important thing is love.