November the 7th, 2021 - Six KBC Zagreb (Rebro) employees have been fired after refusing to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, as well as for refusing to be regularly tested for the virus' presence.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is once again biting hard here in Europe as the season changes and people begin spending more and more time indoors as a result of the colder weather. Infections here in Croatia have climbed to numbers never seen before during the entire pandemic and new measures are now in force to try to combat the rapidly escalating situation.
Hospitals are fearing the same situation we experienced last year and some are already having to make enormous alterations to the way things function to try to deal with the current wave of infections, which are alarmingly high. The vaccination rate in Croatia is still very poor, and a lack of respirators for those with a more severe clinical picture is once again a huge concern.
Most medical staff across Croatia have been fully vaccinated, some have recently accepted their third dose, all with the aim of protecting the most vulnerable and unwell people in society they are typically dealing with. That isn't the case for all, however, and given the fact that vaccination against coronavirus isn't mandatory, some have refused. Those who refuse must then agree to be very regularly tested for the presence of the virus, but some have even refused that. As a result, they've lost their jobs.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, three nurses, a medical technician, an assistant and an administrator were fired from their employment positions at KBC Zagreb because they did not want to be vaccinated or tested, as was announced on Friday.
“The reason for the dismissal of these individuals is their refusal to be vaccinated or, alternatively, be tested for COVID-19 twice a week. They, after being told they could not come to work without a COVID certificate, used their rights to leave, and partly went on sick leave. However, when they exhausted all of their legal 'leave' possibilities, and still didn't want to be vaccinated or tested, they were handed an extraordinary dismissal,'' said prof.dr. Ante Corusic, the director of KBC Zagreb, in conversation with Jutarnji list.
Corusic also confirmed that the process of terminating the employment contract for four more employees is underway for the exact same reason.
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