Qantas makes Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for frontline staff
Unions angry at hard line as other companies weigh whether to follow Qantas in mandating the Covid-19 vaccine for workers.
Qantas has become Australia’s biggest company to mandate the Covid-19 vaccine, ordering frontline workers to get the jab before November 15 or leave the aviation industry.
Weeks after Alliance Aviation and food company SPC took the plunge, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce issued the order to the airline’s 22,000 employees.
The move comes amid a heated debate over workplace vaccinations, but the airline’s decision is expected to pave the way for other companies to follow on compulsory jabs.
A survey of staff showing 89 per cent were already on the path to vaccination, and 75 per cent backed mandatory jabs, prompted the announcement.
A mere 4 per cent indicated they were “unwilling or unable” to have the Covid vaccination, and Mr Joyce said those without a medical reason should accept that aviation was not the industry for them.
“We will have limited redeployment opportunities given the airline has significantly shrunk in the last year or so because of Covid and each individual needs to make that decision on their own personal basis,” he said.
“But we’re being clear that for the safety of the workplace, for the safety of our customers and for the safety of communities (where we fly) we will be making it a requirement for our people.”
Qantas remained of the view vaccination would be required for international travel, and Mr Joyce revealed the same could be asked of domestic passengers.
“There’s a lot of issues to go through about how this could work domestically and we’d need to do a lot more research before we have a final position on what happens domestically,” he said.
“We know a lot of organisations are looking at the requirement (to be vaccinated) to gain access to things like sporting events, hotels and restaurants and we can see around the rest of the world this will start to become the requirement for access.”
Other CEOs echoed Mr Joyce’s belief that vaccination was the only way out of the current nightmare of lockdowns and border closures.
Tabcorp chief David Attenborough revealed the wagering giant was considering incentives for its 4000 staff to get the jab.
“We’ve already introduced vaccination leave … and we’re going to look at other measures that are preferably more carrot than stick in our approach,” Mr Attenborough said. “We’re ruling nothing out in that regard.”
Corporate Travel Management CEO Jamie Pherous said the acceleration of the vaccination rollout was encouraging but he did not see the need to mandate the jab for workers.
“Our staff understand high vaccination rates are crucial to the recovery. Our team understands that it is intrinsic to the future of the business, we encourage it, we don’t have to mandate it because our people are doing it voluntarily around the world,” Mr Pherous said.
Coles chief executive Steve Cain said he would prefer vaccination was “a personal choice” and pointed to the fact demand was outstripping supply.
“When we get to that 70 or 80 per cent (of supermarket workers vaccinated) the government will be looking at carrots and sticks to try to get to where we need to get to,” Mr Cain said.
Federal Finance Minister Simon Birmingham backed Qantas’s move, and said it was not necessary for the government to mandate vaccination for certain industries.
He said employers were within their rights to make reasonable requests of employees.
“Most reasonable Australians would think that it is quite reasonable for Qantas to expect their staff to be vaccinated for an airline where people are working in confined situations, to take that type of step as a workplace health and safety measure,” Senator Birmingham told Perth radio 6PR.
But the hard line position angered unions, which accused Mr Joyce of failing to consult with them on the decision.
Transport Workers Union secretary Michael Kaine said Qantas had jumped the gun ahead of the Attorney-General’s roundtable on vaccination take-up.
“Workers have spoken out about the difficulties they’ve faced accessing the vaccine, but Qantas has refused to listen,” Mr Kaine said.
“Qantas’s own survey shows vaccine hesitancy is extremely low, yet Qantas has pushed ahead with another unilateral decision that will heap unnecessary stress onto workers.”
The Flight Attendants Association of Australia and Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association shared Mr Kaine’s concerns. ALAEA federal secretary Steve Purvinas said an employee should not have to decide between a jab and a job.
“An employee should not be ousted if they object to vaccination,” Mr Purvinas said. “Unvaccinated staff can work in non-customer facing roles. Others could take time away until herd immunity is achieved. Jobs should be preserved until the long-term future of this affliction is known.”
FAAA national secretary Teri O’Toole said the Qantas survey results suggested 480 employees could be shown the door. She said it was disappointing the airline had not done more to educate employees about the vaccine before taking a hard line stand.
“Qantas has a medical department and prior to announcing these sort of severe ultimatums we believe there’s an obligation to educate people on the benefits of vaccine so this is a willing choice,” Ms O’Toole said.
Pilots were awaiting more detail on the mandatory vaccination policy although their union expected most would be supportive.
Australian and International Pilots Association president Murray Butt said anything that got pilots back to work sooner was likely to have their backing.
“It’s becoming evident that the overseas authorities in certain places are going to require (vaccination) for entry,” Captain Butt said. “Many of the pilots who flew international repatriation and freight flights were required to be vaccinated, depending on where they were going but certainly for India.”
Virgin Australia, which recently joined Qantas in calls for the government to make vaccination mandatory for aviation workers, continued to consider the move.
A recent survey of the airline’s 9000 employees found 84 per cent had already been vaccinated, or were registered for the jab.
A spokeswoman said it was conducting risk assessments and consulting work groups and unions to “determine the best way to ensure our entire workforce is protected from Covid-19”.
Alliance Aviation became the first in Australia to insist employees be vaccinated as a condition of employment in May. Managing director Scott McMillan said it had received overwhelming support for the move from employees as well as clients, and already 60 per cent were vaccinated.
Qantas will provide an update on its return to international flying next week when it reports its 2021 results. The group is expected to post another loss in excess of $2bn, after a year without international flights and a patchy recovery for domestic travel.
More Coverage
Boeing to cut 10pc of workforce amid large losses
The aviation giant has had to ‘reset to align with financial reality’ as a machinist strike compounds problems.
Has Qantas met its match with rival Qatar Airways?
As Qatar Airways prepares to buy into Virgin Australia, Qantas faces the prospect of one of its fiercest-ever battles – so is the flying kangaroo up to the challenge?