Victorian unions reject mandatory Covid jab mandate for workers

Victoria’s health unions are the only to support a mandatory jab mandate, with other unions overwhelmingly rejecting the idea, claiming it’s not needed.

Victorian unions have overwhelmingly rejected the idea of mandatory vaccinations, saying free choice for workers would guarantee high rates of uptake.

A Herald Sun survey of eight major unions found just two – the Victorian Ambulance Union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation – supported compulsory jabs.

In Victoria, aged-care workers, hotel quarantine staff and, from Friday, construction workers must be vaccinated.

Health Workers’ Union secretary Diana Asmar said plans to roll out similar mandates across the health sector would see employees flee the industry, leaving the sector facing “chronic” staff shortages.

“We know from surveying our members and speaking to them that a certain portion of the workforce will walk from the industry altogether if they are forced to get this vaccine,” Ms Asmar said.

“We simply can’t afford to have 10 per cent, or even 5 per cent, of health workers leave the industry.”

Paramedic Shelly Tennant is among a majority of ambos to roll up their sleeves and get the Covid jab. Picture: Mark Stewart

Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said while the union encouraged people to get vaccinated, mandates led to “unnecessary division”.

But Victorian Ambulance Union Danny Hill said his union had successfully resolved the concerns of a small number of members who had legitimate medical grounds to refuse or delay being vaccinated.

“Now that those parameters are clear, we are in support of the vaccine requirement because we want members and their patients to be safe,” he said.

Despite the unions’ calls for vaccines to remain voluntary, chief health officer Brett Sutton on Tuesday said there hadn’t been “terrific” levels of take-up among construction workers.

He said the mandate was necessary to prevent “potentially hundreds of deaths”.

“When we had a blitz offering up the vaccine for construction workers and it was voluntary, there wasn’t a terrific response,” Prof Sutton said.

“Having a mandate with a date brings forward the coverage very substantially.”

Treasurer Tim Pallas backed Prof Sutton’s move to mandate the jab for construction workers.

The state government is considering mandatory jabs for a range of sectors, having previously flagged that teachers and early childhood educators could be next in line.

“The chief health officer has the power to make decisions, we support the chief health officer in making those decisions,” Mr Pallas said.

“He has to decide which industries constitute a risk to the public and they are not just all public health industries.”

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the construction mandate was necessary to prevent “potentially hundreds of deaths”.

Australian Education Union Victorian president Meredith Peace said the union had encouraged members to get vaccinated, but stopped short of supporting mandates.

“It remains the union’s position to follow the health advice regarding vaccination requirements and a plan to return to on-site learning.”

While Melbourne’s construction industry ground to a halt, work sites in NSW are set to return to full capacity providing workers who live in a hot spot LGA have had at least a dose of the vaccine in the last three weeks.

The news is expected to be a big boost for NSW’s economy, with construction directly employing around 380,000 people there and representing about $47bn a year in economic activity.

The move comes after weeks of talks as unions and construction companies pushed to increase strict 50 per cent site capacity limits that had left many fully vaccinated workers unable to go to work.

Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said Victoria’s snap shutdown of the entire sector would put the state’s recovery at risk and undermined confidence in its slow reopening plan.

“Around 320,000 Victorian jobs in the construction sector have been put a risk because of the actions of a small minority,” she said.

“Big projects aren’t a tap that can simply be turned on or off, even a very short shutdown puts projects at risk.

“Businesses are ready to work with the Victorian government to find a way through this challenge.”