ABA working group investigates mandatory Covid vaccines for bank staff

A senior bank working group is holding preliminary talks to understand and gauge views about mandating Covid-19 vaccines for branch staff.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the government will not mandate vaccines across large sections of the workforce. Picture: Getty Images

A senior bank working group is holding preliminary talks to understand and gauge views about mandating Covid-19 vaccines for branch staff, and whether it presents a feasible option.

Sources said an Australian Banking Association working group which met last week delved into the topic of mandating vaccines for branch staff, even as a number of major banks accelerate their own vaccination programs for employees.

The operational group of bank representatives, which meets regularly to discuss topics across staff, community and practice, also canvassed the option of an industry-wide policy for mandatory vaccines in frontline roles.

It is understood the talks uncovered diverse views on the topic, with some banks favouring a mandatory rollout for branch roles, while others were hoping the federal government’s policy may be amended to mandate vaccines for those staff.

But some banks represented at the meeting said the voluntary programs for vaccines were progressing quickly enough to not warrant a compulsory program. The banks are also sharing information and best practice around rapid Covid-19 testing and other measures to keep staff as protected as possible from the virus.

The banking sector’s debate around potentially mandating vaccines is still in its early stages. It follows high profile announcements by companies outside healthcare in recent weeks, in

cluding fruit and vegetable processor SPC and Qantas, which have said they will make jabs compulsory.

Telstra has not yet made getting vaccinated a requirement for certain roles, but that may change depending on government advice, particularly for the telco’s workers that service aged care, hospitals and Indigenous communities.

The ABA does not have a firm proposal it is working on regarding mandatory vaccines for branch staff, but the debate within the sector is live. If the topic were to gain traction it would be put to chief executives on the ABA Council, chaired by Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn.

The major banks are also separately receiving legal advice about vaccines and their obligations around ensuring safe workplaces, particularly when staff begin returning to offices in Melbourne and Sydney. It’s a complex area and sources said there was a lot of work required to understand the dynamics across big workforces, particularly if a smaller proportion of staff remained unvaccinated.

ABA chief Anna Bligh said: “At senior levels in banks, as is the case in corporate boardrooms across the country, the topic of vaccination rollouts, mandatory or otherwise, is a live discussion.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier this month said the government would not mandate vaccines across large sections of the workforce or indemnify businesses seeking to make Covid-19 vaccinations compulsory in their workplaces. A no-fault compensation scheme was outlined, however, for doctors administering various Covid-19 vaccines.

Legal advice provided to national cabinet this month suggested there was a legally reasonable basis for four tiers of workers to be captured by vaccine mandates.

Those tiers include those ­at direct threat of catching the virus such as airline workers; employees working with other people more likely to contract Covid-19 such as medical professionals; and ­individuals employed in public-facing roles such as supermarket workers.

In Sydney, a smattering of bank branches and staff have been caught up in the latest Delta outbreak of Covid-19.

The major banks have sought to help accelerate of the vaccine rollout in recent weeks with several pilot programs underway. CBA’s Paramatta Westfield vaccination hub was the first rolled out by the bank and it has additionally set up the jab programs in Bankstown and Hurstville. The vaccination hubs are also set to expand to Sydney branches in Blacktown, Cabramatta, Auburn, Liverpool and Campbelltown.

Westpac CEO Peter King last week said the bank was “strongly encouraging” staff vaccinations and wasparticipating in a pilot where companies were overseeing jabs at their sites.

Westpac has started a rapid antigen testing pilot for customer-facing employees in Sydney’s Covid-19 hot spots.

National Australia Bank boss Ross McEwan last week wrote to 31,000 staff to stress the importance of vaccination.

“It has been good to see a leader such as Qantas’ Alan Joyce be so strong about the need to get vaccinated to protect customers and colleagues – particularly in industries where customers and colleagues engage so closely together. Like airlines – and banking,” he said,

NAB is this week launching a pilot offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to employees in the workplace, starting in hot spots in Sydney and then across the country.

Last month, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said the bank was offering its employees time off to be inoculated as well as creating vaccination hubs across its ­buildings. But he stopped short of pushing for mandatory vaccines: “We’re not here to mandate vaccinations, but we’re in the business of facilitating.”

It’s understood the ABA has been discussing vaccination related topics with members since late 2020, as well as with Treasury’s business liaison unit. More recently, the ABA has engaged with the task force led by Lieutenant General John Frewen.