Covid-19: Sydney, Wollongong, Parramatta diocese schools mandate jab for employees

The vaccination mandate for teachers has expired, leaving some schools to make their own decision on whether to welcome back unvaccinated employees.

The lifting of a state government mandate for education employees to be vaccinated has now expired, leaving Catholic schools across NSW to make their own decisions on whether unvaccinated staff are allowed to return.

The Catholic Dioceses of Wollongong, Sydney, and Parramatta have each decided to continue a vaccine mandate on staff at their schools, earning mixed reactions from parents.

Sharon Chenney has an eight year old son attending All Saints Catholic College in Liverpool, falling under the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, and said she felt her son was much safer with a mandate in place.

“I think they should be vaccinated,” Ms Chenney said. “If they’re not, they can get very sick.”

But other parents disagreed. A group of three mothers outside the school — who did not wish to give their names — told NewsLocal the school should let unvaccinated people teach their children with the only important thing being that they are good teachers.

Each Catholic education diocese needs to decide whether to allow unvaccinated staff to return.

For schools in the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, the removal of the mandate could allow for unvaccinated teachers to return.

A spokesman said the diocese would continue to undertake risk assessments and consultation before making a decision.

It won’t happen on Monday, but in the course of the coming weeks and months, he said.

For schools in the Wollongong Diocese, the decision to maintain a vaccination mandate was made with the safety of staff, students, and visitors in mind, according to head of directorate services Tim Gilmour.

“The environments are the safest they can be for employees and students, and that’s paramount,” he said.

He said the decision was made after consulting with staff and though there were some objections — mostly from teachers opposed to getting vaccinated — the majority were in favour.

Though NSW has a well documented teacher shortage, the diocese still decided it would be best to exclude the unvaccinated.

“Our schools, like others across the state, are trying to respond to challenges on teacher shortages,” Mr Gilmour said.

“We have not made a decision in relation to the teacher shortage, but what is in the best interests of our people and school community.”

The Liverpool Leader reached out to several other NSW Catholic education dioceses to ask what their vaccine position is, but did not get responses prior to deadline.

Revealed: The teachers who lost their jobs over Covid orders

– by David Barwell

Lawyers say they are being ‘swamped’ with cases involving teachers taking legal action after losing their jobs for failing to comply with the state’s Covid health orders.

A list of recent court and tribunal decisions has revealed the various legal challenges made by school employees who were terminated after not providing proof of being vaccinated or refusing to wear a face mask in the classroom.

The Department of Education said the health orders, which were put in place in November, were based on NSW Health advice and designed to protect the safety and wellbeing of students.

Figures released by the department show 311 school staff, including 209 permanent teachers, have been dismissed for not complying with the public health orders since November – a figure that does not include teachers in the private schools sector.

The state government – which is currently grappling with a dire shortage of teachers – has pledged to lift the vaccine mandates, confirming the public health orders for education workers will not be extended beyond the lapse of the orders on May 13.

A spokesman for the department said it was in the process of “working with its workplace health and safety team, NSW Health and key stakeholders to implement the changes.”

A photo of the vaccine hub at Homebush last year.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said there may be “circumstances in teaching where you would expect vaccination will be required”.

Christian Marchegiani – who worked as a biology teacher before quitting his job for refusing to be vaccinated – said he was considering returning to the profession once mandates are lifted.

Mr Marchegiani, who worked at St Gregory’s College Campbelltown, said he had taken alternative work during the last six months to make ends meet.

Christian Marchegiani worked as a teacher before the health orders came into effect.

“I have two degrees and a masters and I’m now out driving a truck to support my family,” he said. “I’ll go back to teaching eventually but the whole experience left a sour taste in my mouth and for a lot of other teachers who lost their jobs and were treated like criminals.

“There’s now a teacher shortage crisis, teachers are still getting Covid and it’s the kids that are missing out.

“A lot of the teachers who have decided they want to return are now making applications to the independent sector or schools where vaccinations aren’t mandatory.

“There may be some tension and segregation (when unvaccinated teachers return to schools) but the whole curriculum is filled with lessons about tolerance, acceptable and anti-discrimination so hopefully they’ll be able to follow the advice they’ve been pushing for years.”

Miles Heffernan, the director of law firm Supportah.

Miles Heffernan, a director of law firm Supportah, said the agency had represented about 250 public sector teachers and nurses in challenges against Covid orders with the majority focusing on the circumstances in which the employee was terminated.

Mr Heffernan expected more cases will begin to fill legal and employment tribunals as further vaccine mandates are lifted.

“When mandates are lifted and we move into an environment where 91-95 per cent of people are vaccinated, we’re going to be seeing fights over things like ‘do workers need to be triple vaccinated’ and how the rules are implemented on a school by school basis,” he said.

A photo of a school being deep cleaned during the peak of the pandemic.

“The Department of Education will likely take a unified response for all schools, but in the private sector each kindie or school is a separate employer. In our experience some will have more relaxed rules, others will take a hard line – that’s where we’ll likely see meritorious claims.”

The NSW Secondary Principals Council has meanwhile raised concerns over the lifting of vaccinated mandates due to concerns it may “compromise the safety and health of students and staff”.

Bondi Beach Public School P&C president Rob Keldoulis – who has two children in Year 5 and 12 – said staff shortages have overtaken Covid-19 as the number one talking point at the school gates.

Bondi Beach Public School P & C President Rob Keldoulis.

“My son is doing his HSC and they’ve run out of teachers and it’s a problem across all schools,” he said.

“Parents aren’t at all talking about Covid any more, it’s about our kids and the education they’re getting and having parents back on school grounds to create that sense of community.

“For us, the most critical thing is that teachers feel safe and that they’re are enough of them in the classroom.”

Below is a list of recent cases involving teachers and educators who have taken legal steps after losing their jobs for not complying with the Covid-19 education health orders.

SAMARA ABREGO

Samara Abrego launched a legal challenge against the Department of Education after she was sacked for not providing proof of being vaccinated in November.

Ms Abrego’s application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal claimed that by being subjected to a vaccine mandate, she was discriminated against.

She sought for the department to “desist in their action and provide a written apology” concerning her “termination and treatment”.

The tribunal, in its decision last week, found Ms Abrego’s argument was “untenable” and that “Ms Abrego has not established that she has been subjected to differential treatment of people who are vaccinated which amounts to direct discrimination.”

“For her to be able to perform her duties as a teacher, the public health order required her to provide evidence of being vaccinated or exempt from being vaccinated – Ms Abrego did not demonstrate either. That is the reason for the termination of her employment, not because of any discrimination under the law.”

LAUREN THORNCRAFT

A Cronulla Public School teacher was also sacked in November last year for failing to provide evidence she was vaccinated against Covid-19.

Lauren Thorncraft, who worked as a temporary part time teacher at the school, claimed the Department of Education had not provided her with any support prior to being terminated.

In her application to the Industrial Relations Commission, which heard the case, Ms Thorncraft said she had not been provided with a risk assessment of the compulsory requirement to become vaccinated.

In its decision, the commission rejected Ms Thorncraft’s application for compensation.

“Any order by the commission that the applicant be reinstated or re-employed in a school-based position would (also) be impracticable and futile,” the commission said in its decision.

COLIN DUNQUE

A temporary teacher at Glen Innes High School was terminated from the job in November for failing to prove he had been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Colin Dunque joined the Northern Tablelands school in May last year before his contract was terminated less than six months into the job due to his failure to comply with education vaccine mandates.

Mr Dunque, who was paid four weeks’ pay in lieu of notice, applied to the Industrial Relations Commission to be reinstated by the Department of Education.

The bulk of his submissions to the tribunal challenged the health orders applying to teachers in NSW but the commission found the orders were validly made by NSW Health and the Department of Education and it would be “impractical” for Mr Dunque to be reinstated.

DEBORAH ANNE CUSHENBERRY

Deborah Anne Cushenberry was dismissed from her job at Gundaroo Outside School Hours Care in the Southern Tablelands in November for declining to wear a face mask at the campus.

A month prior to her dismissal, Ms Cushenberry sent a letter to the Gundaroo OSHC service which included a statutory declaration regarding her inability to wear a face mask.

The school care service responded, requesting the declaration to be verified by a doctor, and also asked whether Ms Cushenberry was intending to be double vaccinated in line with public health orders at the time.

Ms Cushenberry later replied with a doctor’s letter which stated Ms Cushenberry had “discussed a few times with me about her panic attacks on wearing a mask”.

An email from Gunadoo, in its response, said the letter was not sufficient and that it would not permit her to attend the school site until she could “provide a verifiable medical exemption” and proof of vaccination.

Ms Cushenberry described the email correspondence as “intimidating”, “a form of workplace bullying and harassment”.

Ms Cushenberry applied to the Fair Work Commission to be remedied for unfair dismissal, however the commission found the application was made after the 21 day time frame for applications to be lodged under the Fair Work Act and therefore was unable to consider the dispute.