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Jabs on the job

  • September 21, 2021

With nearly 47% of eligible Australians now fully vaccinated, plans to help more people get the jab on the job are underway.

 

  Three key takeaways:

  • The Victorian Government has foreshadowed mandatory vaccinations on construction sites, with workers state-wide expected to show evidence that they have had their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by midnight this Thursday, 22 September.
  • Australian businesses are grappling with how they will manage the “bifurcated world” of the vaccinated and unvaccinated, says Property Council chief Ken Morrison, with property owners facing the additional challenge of “third party building services staff and other occupants of our assets”.
  • The Property Council has developed a model survey to help members understand how they will manage the ‘new normal’ in their organisations.

 

Jabs at the office, construction site and factory floor will be on offer from October, after businesses were given the federal government’s green light to enlist accredited vaccine providers. The Australian Government estimates up to 1.7 million people could be vaccinated through this program.

A flurry of marketing campaigns and corporate sweeteners are already being rolled out to induce Australians to roll up their sleeves.

Corporate leaders are offering inducements from gift cards to donations to charity. Telstra’s fully-vaccinated staff received 200 “appreciation points” recently that can be used on the company’s internal online store. Our Pacific Island neighbours will receive one-for-one vaccinations for every NAB employee that gets the jab, while Virgin Australia is giving away flights and points.

1. Get the jab done. To get the job done

John Holland, Australia’s largest construction company with more than 5,000 employees, has launched a Let’s get the jab done campaign to encourage its employees, subcontractors and suppliers to book their vaccinations. John Holland chief executive officer Joe Barr says “more vaccinations in arms means we can minimise the threat of shutdowns, lockdowns and restrictions and focus on delivering the major infrastructure projects our community needs”.

Raine & Horne has launched a ‘vax badge’ with incentives for all fully vaccinated staff. Angus Raine, the company’s executive chairman, says many Raine & Horne employees have continued to perform essential services, such as routine rental property inspections and one-on-one open homes, and have followed the health and social distancing guidelines “to a tee”. This initiative aims to give buyers, vendors, investors and tenants “peace of mind”.

Master Builders Australia, meanwhile, has launched a new partnership with the Pharmacy Guild, which means builders and tradespeople can use the guild’s online portal to book a vaccine appointment at a local community pharmacy. Denita Wawn, CEO of Master Builders Australia, says “$26 million per week in building and construction industry wages alone are at risk from continued lockdowns”.

Morrison says Australian companies grappling with the ‘new normal’ face “vexed” policy issues that governments are “happy to leave squarely on the heads of business leaders”. Vaccines are the secret to Australia’s “big and welcome transition” to a new normal, Morrison says. “It is a transition that can’t come soon enough for most.”

Download the Property Council’s Best Practice COVID-19 Vaccination Survey.

2. Get the jab done. To get the job done