A lifeguard who appeared on Bondi Rescue was fired for keeping his COVID-19 vaccination status a secret.
In the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Waverley Council has stood down a number of lifeguards, including Clint Kimmins.
Prior to receiving an email from the council informing him that his employment had been terminated, Mr. Kimmins had been manning the neighbourhood beaches for the previous four years.
No “sorry to be the bearer of bad news” was offered; instead, it was a rather chilly email resignation. He told Courier Mail that was it.
Mr. Kimmins claimed he thought the decision to receive vaccinations was a personal one and accused the council of putting pressure on lifeguards to disclose their vaccination status.
He criticized the council’s decision to email his lifeguards informing them of their terminations, claiming they might have handled the situation better.
When they forced us to close the beaches, he remarked, “We were on the front lines during the pandemic and we’ve been left covered in blood from saving people and executing suicide retrievals from the rocks.”
It is quite disheartening to be handled in this manner.
Mr. Kimmins said that he was seeing a psychotherapist and that his role’s abrupt end had left him with financial and emotional damage.
His relationship with his girlfriend has ended, and he intends to return to the Gold Coast.
On Thursday, Mr. Kimmins revealed the details of his termination in an emotional Instagram post.
He wrote, “I’m pleased of my time here in Sydney and my service as a Lifeguard at the world’s wildest beaches.”
“I have helped people by doing what I love, and I have done it with pride and to the best of my ability. I have also regretfully seen countless deaths.
“I have gotten to know people that I now genuinely care about, and I want to thank the locals for welcoming me into their community,” she said.
Mr. Kimmins declared that his “integrity” would be unharmed when he returned to his native state.
All of the Waverley Council’s employees must be immunized, a spokesman said.
According to the spokesperson, “the goal of the vaccination policy is to help protect the public, our lifeguards, and minimize the danger of them developing serious illness if they were to get COVID-19.”
The health and safety of our lifeguards, as well as that of the community, is of utmost importance to us because they are our first responders.
According to the spokeswoman, the council is currently hiring extra lifeguards.
A representative for the council said, “Council recruits lifeguards each year to support our Lifeguard staff over the busy summer time and we are always trying to increase our squad.”
“Council has recently expanded its lifeguard service coverage.” For example, Tamarama Beach is now constantly guarded.