ACTU calls for paid vaccine leave to encourage uptake

There are calls for a new form of paid leave to boost the number of Australians getting vaccinated. Here’s what supporters want.

Unions are calling for paid leave for workers while they receive their Covid-19 jab to ignite Australia’s sluggish vaccine rollout.

Just 5.3 million doses had been administered in Australian by June 8, well behind initial expectations, but the federal government insisted efforts are being ramped up after supply issues and vaccine hesitancy.

Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus has called for a nationwide paid vaccination leave scheme, including time off for workers suffering routine side effects from the jab, to boost vaccine uptake.

She argued the move would remove a financial disincentive faced by people in casual or insecure work who feared being left “out of pocket” if they took time off.

“People don’t have sick leave or enough hours at the moment, so taking time off unpaid is a big hit. If you’ve got two jobs, it makes it harder because your other employer is expecting you to turn up,” she told NCA NewsWire.

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ACTU secretary Sally McManus has called for paid leave to allow people to get vaccinated. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

“People do work shifts, too. (That) makes it harder if you can’t plan ahead in order to get the vaccination.”

Ms McManus called for “as much leave as (an employee) needed” to get the jab, saying more time would be required for regional workers living further from vaccination centres.

She suggested the scheme could operate in a similar manner to paid pandemic leave, introduced by the federal government in August.

“It’s much fairer and better if you just make a rule across the country. That would mean that it’s not left up to individual workers to have to go and ask for it or fight for it if they can’t get it,” she said.

The ACTU had written to the federal government over the proposal but was yet to hear back, Ms McManus said.

A spokesman for Industrial Relations Minister Michaelia Cash said businesses requiring employees to get vaccinated should cover their travel costs, and allow them to attend their appointment without loss of wages if it fell during working hours.

Employers were also able to discuss work adjustments and leave arrangements to support their employees getting vaccinated, he said.

“The Morrison Government encourages businesses and unions to work cooperatively with all levels of government to facilitate the vaccine rollout and encourage high levels of take-up among workers, particularly where they work with vulnerable Australians,” he said.

Employees experiencing side-effects from the vaccine may also be entitled to take sick leave if they were unable to work, he said.

The federal government has introduced a new emergency payment for people unable to work during Covid-enforced lockdowns. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said new advice from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), allowing businesses to provide rewards to employees for getting vaccinated, made it easier to provide paid vaccine leave.

“Many of our members are already providing paid vaccine leave … Business is willing to pull out all stops to get their staff protected from the virus,” she told NCA NewsWire.

It comes after the Prime Minister Scott Morrison in June unveiled a new emergency payment for workers stuck in Covid-19 hotspots.

The Coalition also moved to mandate vaccines for aged care workers last week after the virus spread between vulnerable residents and staff at Melbourne’s Arcare facility in May.

Ms McManus said the union would support compulsory vaccines in high-risk jobs if recommended by medical advice but rejected suggestions employers should be granted the power to stand aside workers refusing to use their vaccine leave.

“The best way to make sure that as many people as possible get the vaccination is make it available to them and make it easier for them to get it,” she said.

“I’m sure that if we provided all of those supports, we will probably get to the number we needed to without needing to make it compulsory.”