Qantas to mandate vaccines for frontline staff by November

Qantas has announced it will require its frontline staff to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by November to help it keep flights in the air and avoid the potential long-distance spread of the virus, joining SPC as the second major Australian company to commit to the move. In a statement, Qantas said its decision to mandate had been backed by a staff survey showing an overwhelming majority of its workforce either were vaccinated or planned to be and supported mandatory jabs. The national carrier’s decision will have a ripple effect throughout the aviation industry, with CE Alan Joyce revealing Qantas was working with contractors and suppliers who also wanted to mandate vaccinations. “One crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day,” Joyce said. “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.” Qantas has already said passengers on international flights will need to be vaccinated when they resume but Joyce said he had not decided whether to extend that policy to domestic services. The move will test industrial law, which most experts say does permit mandatory vaccination in high-risk industries like aviation but that interpretation has not yet been considered by a judge or tribunal. “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,” said Joyce. Asked whether Qantas’ policy amounted to “no jab, no job”, Joyce did not give a definitive answer but said medical exceptions and redeployment opportunities would be limited.<br/>