Why an unvaccinated former healthcare worker is hopeful she could get her job back
CTV
A former Grand River Hospital (GRH) employee is encouraged by an recent arbitrator’s ruling that nine Ontario nurses, who were fired because they didn’t get two COVID-19 vaccinations, should be reinstated.
A former Grand River Hospital (GRH) employee is encouraged by an recent arbitrator’s ruling that nine Ontario nurses, who were fired because they didn’t get two COVID-19 vaccinations, should be reinstated.
Their termination was deemed unreasonable and “nurses intent on remaining unvaccinated are a small minority everywhere but their employee rights may not be ignored,” wrote Justice James Hayes, in his Feb. 28 decision.
Krista Ruddy was a medical lab technician who was originally placed on unpaid leave in 2021 after deciding not to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
She was eventually fired and was forced to find work elsewhere. She traded in her medical scrubs for a safety vest as she transitioned to more blue-collar work, unable to find a job in her field.
“I loved my job,” Ruddy told CTV News. “I applied to multiple hospitals, but as soon as I said that I wasn’t vaccinated, they said ‘OK, thank you so much for letting us know. Well-wishes on your journey.’”
But now there is renewed hope on that journey. While Ruddy is not a registered nurse, she was let go for reasons that are very similar to the group of Quinte Health nurses who were the subjects of the recent ruling.
“This opens the door for everyone. It’s not just the nurses, but this opens a huge door for everybody,” she said.
