| Members will have seen that Qantas CEO Alan Joyce sent an email this morning advising workers that it will be a requirement for operational employees to be vaccinated against COVID19 from mid-November 2021, and for corporate employees to be vaccinated by March 2022.
Qantas’ decision to make vaccinations mandatory demonstrates the failure of Federal leadership on this issue.
We are disappointed that the Federal Government has not properly addressed the issue of mandatory vaccinations in workplaces and is instead leaving it up to individual employers to determine their own approaches. We also know that the biggest problem with the COVID19 vaccine rollout has been workers actually being able to access vaccinations. We hope that the increased amounts of vaccine arriving in Australia in the coming weeks and months will mean that workers are able to get increased access to vaccinations.
The USU/ASU has been calling on all employers to provide their employees with paid time off work to access vaccinations – no one should lose a shift or pay to go and get vaccinated. Members should remember that Qantas policy now allows you to go and get your vaccination in paid time.
We are meeting with Qantas early next week to commence consultation about their new policy and will keep members up to date with developments.
Pass this bulletin to your colleagues who aren’t in the union. They can join at www.usu.org.au/join.
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