As a way to expedite a much-needed safe restart of operations, Qantas Group has mandated its staff to complete the vaccination calendar against COVID-19.
In a press release, the group stated that all frontline employees – including cabin crew, pilots, and airport workers – will need to be fully vaccinated by 15 November 2021 and the remainder of employees by 31 March 2022.
The company will consider exemptions for those who are unable for documented medical reasons to be vaccinated, although it would be expected “to be very rare”.
The company said that the policy follows consultation with Qantas and Jetstar employees including a survey sent to 22,000 people to seek their views on vaccination. The survey returned 12,000 responses to show that of those who responded:
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- 89 percent have had at least one vaccine dose or plan to be vaccinated
- 77 percent have had at least one dose
- 60 percent are fully vaccinated
- 12 percent are booked or planning to book
- 7 percent undecided or preferred not to say
- 4 percent are unwilling or unable to get the vaccine
- 89 percent have had at least one vaccine dose or plan to be vaccinated
The company also shared some employee comments, that stressed the importance of vaccination for passenger safety and their own. “My employer has a duty of care. All employees need to be safe in the workplace. All employees walk past each other. We all have to be safe.” and “I fully support everyone being vaccinated so we can open the domestic and international borders again.” are two examples of their thoughts about the vaccination mandate.
Qantas states that “thousands of aviation workers supporting international flights in New South Wales, South Australia, and New Zealand are already required to be vaccinated by those jurisdictions”. And it also cites the multiple airlines around the world have also made it a requirement.
A few weeks ago, United announced that it would mandate vaccination among its staff and new hires, and other companies are following suit. While there are some carriers that would not seek to enforce, it is expected that they suggest or recommend their employees to vaccinate.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said: “Having a fully vaccinated workforce will safeguard our people against the virus but also protect our customers and the communities we fly to. One crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day,” he added.
“Making sure they are vaccinated given the potential of this virus to spread is so important and I think it’s the kind of safety leadership people would expect from us. We provide an essential service, so this will help guard against the disruptions that can be caused by just one positive COVID-case shutting down a freight facility or airport terminal.”
“It’s clear that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures and for a lot of Qantas and Jetstar employees that means getting back to work again. This was one of the largest responses to any survey we’ve conducted, even with thousands of our people stood down, which shows just how important this is for them.
“Since vaccines became available, we’ve strongly encouraged all of our people to get the jab and are offering paid time off to get it done. We were really pleased to see from the survey that more than three-quarters of those who responded have already rolled up their sleeve at least once and 60 percent have had both jabs.
“Many of our people said they would feel concerned about working with unvaccinated colleagues, which is something that many workplaces across the country are grappling with.
“We understand there will be a very small number of people who decide not to get the vaccine, and that’s their right, but it’s our responsibility to provide the safest possible environment for our employees and for our customers,” Mr. Joyce concluded.
The group said that further discussions will take place with employees, their health and safety representatives, and unions over the coming weeks on the detail of the policy, including how medical exemptions will be applied.
In a separate survey of more than 1000 Qantas customers, 92 percent said they expect Qantas crew to be fully vaccinated.
