Mandated work vaccination a dilemma

It may also be seen as premature given problems with Pfizer and Moderna vaccine availability for under-40s.

There is no guarantee all the airline's front-line workers will be able to access their preferred vaccine by their earlier cut-off date of November 15.

While Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has defended the policy on the grounds "one crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day" the rationale for threatening non-front-line staff with the sack if they aren't inoculated is not so clear.

Qantas's observation aviation workers supporting international flights in NSW, South Australia, and New Zealand are already required to be vaccinated under local health orders highlights the difference between action by a government and by a corporation.

The company could have avoided the inevitable blowback this decision will, and has already, generated if it had pressured other states and territories to impose similar health orders.

That would shift responsibility from the company to the governments and give Qantas legal protection against adverse effects on an individual who had to undergo compulsory vaccination to keep their job.

Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine may well have been correct when he said Qantas has "jumped the gun", given the issues with vaccine availability on the one hand and the fact Australians are rolling up their sleeves by the million to get the jab on the other.

He was also critical of the company's failure to consult all workers and said there were staff concerns about the loss of shift allowances if they had to take time off to recover from vaccination side effects.

Mr Joyce claims strong staff support, saying three-quarters of the workforce were in favour. Given Qantas has 22,000 people on the books, that means 5500 are not.

While Qantas is within its rights given last Friday's Fair Work Ombudsman's advice that businesses may mandate vaccinations if they believe the measures are "lawful and reasonable", this lukewarm endorsement and lack of leadership at state and national level has opened a can of worms.

Asked if employers risked exposing themselves to legal jeopardy with vaccine mandates, Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said: "I don't think most businesses want to be facing litigation, potentially."

This ambivalence was reflected in a joint statement issued by the ACTU and the Business Council of Australia which said vaccines should remain voluntary for the vast majority of workers. It called for "nationally consistent Public Health Orders" to protect the firms which do choose to mandate vaccines.

"These are serious decisions that should not be left to individual employers and should only be made following public health advice based on risk and medical evidence," the statement read.

In other words mandatory vaccinations should be the last resort in a very small number of crucial industries.

It would make a lot more sense to offer the carrot before resorting to the stick. Lotteries, cash bonuses and even a beer have all been mooted as incentives in recent times.

While there are obvious problems with offering an alcoholic beverage as an inducement, surely the other two are worth a try.

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