Australia's Qantas says all staff must be vaccinated
Qantas said a poll of its 22,000 workers found that 89% of respondents had already been vaccinated or were planning to be
The company says its remaining employees have until the end of March next year to receive both doses.The Australian flag carrier is the country's biggest, most high-profile company to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy. Qantas said that a poll of its 22,000 staff found that 89% of respondents had already been vaccinated or were planning to be and around three-quarters of them thought it should be mandatory.
And Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been adamant that, with the exception of those in specific industries , nobody will be forced to take it. Even if firms do want to mandate it - the law is not on the side of the employers. Border closures caused by outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta variant in Sydney and Melbourne have led to Qantas making big cuts to its flight schedule.The airline has already made around 8,500 workers redundant due to the pandemic, and is still operating very few international flights.