Employee's Union Wants Clear Policy on PPE
In what may become a trend for federal workers, The National Treasury Employee’s Union (NTEU) urged the Department of Homeland Security to provide employees with a clear and rational policy on the wearing of personal-protection-equipment (PPE) before the widely predicated return this fall of the Swine Flu (H1N1) virus.
The appeal was made during testimony by the NTEU to a key Senate subcommittee examining pandemic influenza preparedness and it’s impact on the federal workforce.
In their testimony, the union urged “DHS and its components need to have a rational policy on this issue now, before this fall, when many predict a more virulent form of the H1N1 virus will return.” NTEU’s hope, it said, is that today’s hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, together with actions recently taken by the House, “will help achieve that very modest goal.”
The House action NTEU referred to is the inclusion of an amendment offered by Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) authorization bill ensuring the right of TSA employees to wear protective masks while performing their homeland security duties. Initially, he sought to offer an amendment providing rights regarding personal protective equipment for all DHS employees. His current amendment would only cover the Transportation Security Agency, but many believe that similar requests will come from other federal employee advocates, including unions at a number of agencies.
Since the Swine Flu (H1N1) virus may well mutate during the summer and return in a “second wave” that is more viral that the mild form experienced to date in the US, many fear wide-spread absentism by federal employees, and the impact on critical services.
Addressing policies on pandemic flu on a broad variety of topics including telecommuting, PPE, child care, and other issues as it affects the federal workforce is viewed as being critical by many to insure continuity of operations.
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