Crown visitors, workers to face mandatory jab rule

Despite conceding mandatory vaccinations would be a “tough sell” to some patrons, Crown will push ahead with a “no jab, no entry policy”.

Tens of millions of annual visitors to Crown and every worker will have to be fully-vaccinated to access the mega-attraction, under a bold plan.

The hospitality giant has written to all its 20,000 employees across Australia, informing them that discussions will begin immediately regarding the introduction of mandatory vaccinations for staff and visitors.

The “no jab, no entry policy” would apply to all its facilities, including Crown Melbourne’s gaming floors, hotels, shops, restaurants, cinemas, nightclubs and amusement centres. Crown Resorts and Crown Melbourne chief executive Steve McCann said: “Our starting point will be, anyone who works at, or visits our facilities, will need to be vaccinated across the board.

“This is about protecting every Australian. We want to create a safe environment for people to come to work, and also for our guests to come to enjoy themselves.”

Crown Melbourne is Victoria’s biggest single-site employer – with 11,500 people working across the resort – and it attracts 22 million ­visitors a year.

Crown Melbourne will enforce a no jab, no entry policy.

“We need to take measures to help keep people safe. That starts with our employees, but also extends to our guests and the broader community,” Mr McCann said.

Consultation will begin with stakeholders and employees over the mandatory vaccination policy at its venues in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

Mr McCann said Crown’s plea to the hesitant would be “the same message we’ve heard more recently from governments around freedoms for people who are fully vaccinated, and around the care we need to have for our people attending (the venues).

“We’d encourage everyone who is unvaccinated to look at it through that lens,” he said.

Asked if unvaccinated patrons, guests and customers would be welcome, Mr McCann said “the concept, to date, is that (vaccination) will be mandatory, so we won’t be allowing unvaccinated people into our facilities”, conceding mandatory vaccinations would be a “tough sell” to Crown’s patrons.

Crown would consider vaccine passports, proof of full vaccination or negative Covid tests, and rapid antigen tests at venue entry points, he said.

It has not set a deadline for employees or customers to be vaccinated. “Clearly, we want to be ready to open as soon as possible,” Mr McCann said.

A Crown employee survey, conducted last week, found 63 per cent of respondents supported mandatory vaccination within the hospitality sector.

Crown will offer incentives, including three hours of paid leave and an extra day of paid sick leave, if needed, to encourage workers to get vaccinated.

“We hope the hospitality industry looks at what we’re doing, and recognise, as a very large employer, this is a significant commitment,” Mr McCann said.

Corporate giants including Telstra, Qantas, Virgin and SPC have also made coronavirus vaccinations mandatory for all workers.