Four employees of the Stančić Rehabilitation Centre have had their employment contracts terminated because they refused to be tested for Covid-19, which is a condition for coming to work in the social welfare and health care system, Jutarnji list writes on Wednesday.

These are the first dismissals related to the decision of the National Civil Protection Headquarters, according to which from October 4, all employees in health and social institutions must present a digital Covid-certificate upon arrival to work, proving that they have been vaccinated or have recovered from the virus. All employees are tested twice a week.

A speech therapist, a psychologist and a special education teacher and one employee of the technical staff have been refusing this for a month, which has now cost them their jobs. They, on the other hand, believe that the situation with certificates is absurd and illegal because it violates their constitutional rights, employment contracts and numerous other legal regulations. They also claim that they do not agree to the test because the procedure is painful, dehumanizing and belittling, and that several of their colleagues suffered injuries during frequent tests and now have frequent headaches and nosebleeds, which was reported to doctors.

The president of the Workers 'Council Stančić and a member of the Executive Board of the Trade Union of Social Welfare Employees Žuborka Kadoić said that the Workers' Council supported the management in the decision on dismissal. He notes that they spoke several times with an employee who is the only one of the four and a union member, but he was determined to refuse testing.

"We believe that the situation is serious, and those who work with sensitive people must be especially careful. Testing is the least that can be done. In fact, I think that the use of Covid-certificates should be broader than social care and health," says Kadoić. He added that they are sorry because they are mostly young people, but they think they made a mistake.