Unvaxxed opposition MP feels vindicated 

Opposition lawmaker Fitz Bramble, who has publicly declared that he has not taken a COVID-19 vaccine, says he feels vindicated by the court ruling that the government’s mandate is unconstitutional.

Bramble, who is into his first term as an elected MP, like other lawmakers, was not affected by the mandate, which declared certain categories of public sector employees as frontline workers.

In December 2021, the government deemed these frontline workers who had not taken a COVID-19 jab as having abandoned their jobs.

However, the court ruled that the government’s actions were unlawful and the workers never ceased to be employed and are entitled to all their salaries and benefits.

“First and foremost, anytime the rights of citizens are violated, I have a serious problem with that,” Bramble told iWitness News in Kingstown, on Monday, where he joined people protesting the government’s decision to protest the court ruling. 

He said the court proved that the rights of citizens were violated and deemed the government to have acted unconstitutionally and illegally.

“And on top of that, the government does not seem to have the sensitivity to accept the court’s ruling and just correct the wrong. But, instead, they have signaled their intention to appeal the decision and, for me, that is insensitive,” said Bramble, who is MP for East Kingstown.

The opposition MP said the decision to appeal is “very, very insensitive and it is not good politics. 

“As a politician, I would not have done that, I would not have advised that. But the bottom line is, I am out here to support all the affected Vincentians, everybody who has been affected directly by losing their jobs because of the vaccine mandate and I would stand shoulder to shoulder with them until they get justice,” he said.

Bramble explained his decision not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“At the time, I was not comfortable and I was not satisfied that the information that the government and the health officials here were giving me regarding the vaccine was enough to give me the confidence to take it,” he said.

He, however, added that he is not anti-vaccine, adding that he has been vaccinated against “polio and all those kinds of things. 

“So, I don’t have a problem with vaccines but, on this particular occasion, I am still not happy that the information given out regarding the vaccine was enough. And I have been proven to be right now because, as you can see, the science is unfolding in such a way that vindicates the decision that I made.”

The New Democratic Party, of which Bramble is a member, encouraged people to take the jab, but emphasized that it should not be made mandatory. 

iWitness News asked Bramble how difficult it was to maintain his autonomy while being part of a political organisation and a government that was pushing the mandate.

“Well, before you become a part of a political party, you are an individual, you are a human being. The decision and the policy and the positions taken by parties are as a result of different views, different involvement, different philosophies and I think that is the beautiful thing about our party. 

“We have people who can disagree, who can view things differently but can still come together to enable the party to make a decision and that is exactly what happened in our case. I respect people’s personal choice and I will always do that, but I will also understand the value of a major political party, a government in waiting, being able to come out in a unified way and maintain their position as a unified party.”

Bramble, an economist, commented on the fiscal implication of reinstating the workers, as the court has ordered, when the government might have already hired people to fill their posts.

“Well, obviously, they are going to have to find the money from somewhere. Given the existing situation with the government, I can’t tell them how to solve that problem but they have to find the money and they can find the money,” he told iWitness News. 

The NDP has said that if elected to office, it would discontinue any appeal in the matter and would reinstate the workers with all benefits intact.

“Well, we have to find a balance and we have to make sure that everybody is satisfied and everybody gets justice,” Bramble said, adding that an NDP government would have to honour the contracts of the person employed after the mandate.

“… but more importantly, all of the workers, teachers, workers, nurses, policemen, public servants, who were fired because of the vaccine mandate, they must get their justice, which include being paid for the time that they were sent home, getting all their benefits reinstated and being reinstated in their jobs,” Bramble said.

“The government has to find a solution to the problem,” he told iWitness News.