TfNSW Mandatory vaccination policy – latest update

As the union has long maintained, there are other ways of making sure workers are safe than mandatory vaccination.

In a common-sense win, Transdev has committed to looking at these other measures (masks all the time, regular testing, physical distancing etc) and allow workers who have not been vaccinated to return to work. They will only return to work (once the company takes over) with extra safety measures in place. The union is not going to advocate anything that puts workers at risk.

The next battle is to have members who are on the wrong side of this politically motivated policy paid for the time they’ve been kept at home since the beginning of December, because STA refuses to acknowledge that other safety measures exist. The union has written to the IRC seeking a hearing next week to fight for these Members’ pay.

Let’s not forget that this policy didn’t come from the NSW Department of Health, it was a direction from the Department of Premier and Cabinet to Transport for NSW. Because transport didn’t stand up for their staff and conduct their own Risk Assessments properly but just went through the motions, we’re in the ridiculous position of vaccination being virtually the ONLY safety measure in place for the vast majority of workers.

This means that if you’re a school crossing guard, bus driver, or tram driver, you must be vaccinated to keep your job without any consideration to your workplace or other measures that could be applied.

There are several disputes running in the fair Work Commission and the Industrial Relations Commission on this at the moment, more news as it develops.