SPC cleared to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for workers

In early August, SPC announced that it would be mandating COVID-19 vaccines for its staff, with the end of October and November being the required dates for the first and second dose respectively. Now Work Safe Victoria has cleared SPC over concerns that it had inadequately consulted with its staff about this mandate.

Unions such as the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union and the Australian Council of Trade Unions were unhappy with SPC’s decision to require vaccinations for its staff to continue working, arguing that such a mandate ought to be delivered from a public health directive, as opposed to by a business.

The unions felt that SPC had overstepped its bounds and requested instead that vaccines remain widely available to staff but be voluntary nonetheless. Work Safe Victoria was cautious about mandating vaccines, suggesting that workplaces commit to consulting with their staff, in an open discussion, as a means of effectively understanding staff opinions on the matter.

However, after an inspection at SPC, Work Safe Victoria found that it had actually provided adequate information and time for its employees to be vaccinated. As such, the mandates remain in place and workers have to have received their second vaccine dose come December to gain entrance to their workplace.

Additionally, SPC has recently released its COVID-19 Vaccine Response Plan, which outlines ways in which other businesses can mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Edson Souza