Irish SME Association (ISME ) is calling for increased access to rapid Covid-19 testing for workers after the Christmas period. The risk of a serious increase in Covid-19 infection rates in the workplace after the holidays is a huge concern for business owners across different sectors.
In response, ISME has written to the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD, to call for rapid Covid-19 testing of in-bound air and sea passengers to Ireland from 1st January 2021 and support for employers to provide rapid testing at the workplace for their employees.
ISME is concerned that a huge increase in international travel with people visiting Ireland or returning here after the holidays will result in a rise in cases. This is a cause of great concern for employers, as they may well see further interruptions to business that could well be avoided.
“The issue was raised at a recent meeting of ISME’s National Council. With many businesses closed for up to two weeks during between Christmas and New Year, our members are concerned about large numbers of their workers, particularly across the service industry, booking leave between 18th December and 3rd January, expecting to return home, travel or spend time with family home from abroad during this period,” Neil Mc Donnell, CEO of ISME, said.
The most recent Labour Force Survey estimates that almost 16% of the workforce is non-national, and six percent of the total is from EU15 - EU27 countries. Significant numbers of these EU15 – EU27 workers are employed in the care, hospitality, construction, manufacturing, and logistics sectors.
“The current PCR testing regime is neither affordable nor operationally appropriate for the scale of testing that is needed. We believe that a campaign of rapid testing in the workplace immediately after the Christmas break, with the immediate isolation of suspected positive cases, would greatly mitigate any increase in the Covid-19 caseload in the New Year,” Neil concluded.
