Air New Zealand reveals which workers will be required to have mandatory vaccinations

Air New Zealand has revealed which workers will be affected by its updated policy on mandatory vaccination.

All pilots, cabin crew, airport staff who are customer facing and those who handle bags, cargo roles, and the managers of those workers in those roles will be required to have their first vaccine by November 14.

The list of workers is not exhaustive because Air New Zealand was in negotiations with workers in the digital, contact centre, and financial services areas of the company on whether they would also be required to vaccinate.

Air Zealand previously announced that 4100 of its 7840 full time staff would be required to vaccinate, but the number had since dropped to 3700 staff, with more possibly added after further negotiations.

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Chief medical officer Dr Ben Johnston​ said the switch to mandatory vaccinations was a necessary step, due to the increased danger of the Delta variant of Covid-19.

“A key public health control has always been our testing, our PPE, our ventilation in the aircraft. Before Delta came along we had a very high level of confidence that those controls were sufficient.

“But with Delta being so infectious we have less confidence in those controls. Our rationale is that we need to do something more to protect the health and safety of our workers,” Johnston​ said.

He did not expect there to be many workers who would be could not be vaccinated because of health reasons, and was only aware of a single worker in that category.

Air New Zealand would try to accommodate those who objected to taking the vaccine on personal grounds, but the specifics of their further employment would depend on the availability of alternative roles.

“If people are unable, or don’t want to take the vaccination there is quite a detailed consultation that occurs. But if a large number of people do not want to take the vaccine, there will always be a limitation of roles,” Johnston​ said.

Workers would also be offered the option to take leave without pay if they wanted to wait until an alternative to the Pfizer vaccine became available.

“Our aim here is to protect people’s health and safety. It is as important as all the other safety measures we have in place. We get people to wear hearing protection, we get them to wear restraints when on the aircraft. Vaccination is just another one of those protections,” Johnston​ said.

E tu head of aviation, Savage​, said the union would make sure members were supported whatever their stance on vaccination.

“Our focus at this stage will be ensuring those medically unable to be vaccinated are fully supported, and that union members with low trust in vaccination have the support they need to make a decision that is right for them and their whānau,” Savage​ said.

While the union agreed that vaccination was an important protection against Covid-19, misinformation was clouding some people’s decision-making process, he said.

“Union staff will be supporting delegates and members to assess the information provided and respond as needed.”

Air New Zealand proposed expanding its mandatory vaccination policy to all staff who interacted with customers and baggage at the start of the month.

Chief executive Greg Foran​​ said the majority state-owned airline did not take the decision lightly.

“Our people have been on the frontline through the pandemic, helping Kiwis get home and keeping goods moving and, as a result, have a greater risk of coming into contact with Covid-19,” Foran​​ said.

A decision on the final number of workers affected by the mandatory vaccination policy was expected on October 8.