My Wife Refused the Booster, Lost Her Job, But Then…

A couple of months ago, my wife was happily working for the Queensland Government when she received a fax from the head office. It stated that all employees must receive a COVID booster shot by 30th September 2022 and provide evidence to their team manager. My wife came home a bit upset and was a bit confused why they were asking for a booster at this late stage of the pandemic. The only thing that I could tell her was that the Queensland Government were possibly going to lose their emergency powers soon, and that this was probably a “last hurrah” so to speak. A final act of control.

If you knew my wife, you’d know she’s completely innocent, completely harmless. She wouldn’t hurt a fly. People like her. She gets on well with everybody. She’s completely inoffensive. Kind of the opposite of me! But consequently, she almost never stands up for herself. She was raised in a culture, in China, where you never disagreed with your superiors. But despite that, just this one time in her life, regarding the booster shot, she stood up and said “No”.

As per the instructions on the fax, she emailed her team manager and told her that she will not be getting the booster. She also emphasised that she does not want to leave this job and is prepared to do alternative duties if necessary. The next day, her team manager replied and surprisingly admitted that she was not going to get the booster either, and therefore, was no longer my wife’s team manager. She told my wife that she had already contacted the other team managers and informed them of my wife’s decision.

A couple of weeks went past (my wife was still able to work) and the 30th September came round. That day she got an email from the big boss, the regional manager or whoever, giving her a “lawful” direction to not enter or remain in any work building or accommodation service that contains four or more clients. We were a bit confused. We hadn’t heard of this four-person rule before, so we guessed that meant that she could still work when there were three people or less. The first week of October came round and surprise surprise she got a phone call from work asking if she could do a shift. The rostering people were aware that she could only work with three people or less, but there were plenty of places which met that requirement, and so she proceeded to work for the rest of the week in places which had three clients or less. And that was completely legal in accordance with the Government’s own rules.

The next week, however, she came home from work a bit upset. She had received a phone call from another person, this time the area manager stating that it wasn’t fair to the other workers that she was still working without having received a booster shot. The other staff members had done the “right” thing and rolled up their sleeves. Furthermore, in the area manager’s opinion, it was potentially dangerous for my wife to be working around any clients. (Despite it being completely legal according to the Queensland Government). But, the area manager disagreed and forced my wife to take unpaid leave.

Fast forward three weeks, October 31st, All Hallows’ Eve. My wife had enjoyed the last three weeks off. But on the night of October 31st, we saw a statement from the Queensland Government, “From 6p.m. Monday 31st October 2022, there are no Public Health Directions in effect requiring you to be vaccinated in high risk settings, including: early childhood, prisons, airports, aged care facilities, shared disability accommodation, and private hospitals. Decisions on mandatory vaccinations will instead be made by the owner or operator of these settings.”

My wife was understandably delighted. However, there was the issue with that final sentence. I told her not to get her hopes up as they may still require the booster shot. She waited a couple of days and decided she was sick of waiting and contacted a couple of other businesses in our local area to see if they required the booster shot. They all replied “No”, so my wife applied for a job. The first job she applied for, I’m not joking, they got back to her in 12 minutes asking her to come in for an interview next week. Great news! She’ll be going to that interview in a couple of days time. But just as I left to go pick up the children, she got a phone call from guess who? The Queensland Government! They asked her back. They said the rules have changed and that she no longer requires a booster, but it is highly recommended.

The thing is, there is a shortage of workers in my wife’s industry. Companies need workers. All they care is that they’re obeying the law. My wife for the first time in her life stood up against authority and realised she wasn’t imprisoned, she wasn’t fined, she didn’t lose anything really. She just had a nice three weeks off. She realised she had a lot more power than she first thought.

MUSIC
Melancholia by Godmode