New Zealand’s defence against the spread of COVID-19 has been strengthened with all Auckland Airport employees working on the front-line now vaccinated, one month ahead of the Government’s mandatory vaccination order.
General manager corporate services Mary-Liz Tuck said the spread of the delta variant meant Auckland Airport had decided to bring forward the requirement for its front-line workers to be vaccinated from September 30 to August 31, 2021.
"Auckland Airport has an important role in protecting New Zealand communities from the spread of COVID-19, and we believe vaccinations are one of the best tools we have to manage this pandemic and its impact. More than 90 per cent of our front-line workers were vaccinated within the first eight weeks of COVID-19 vaccinations becoming available in February.
"As we watch the spread of new variants such as Delta the safety and wellbeing of our people and community continues to come first – particularly our front-line and specialist emergency workers who are key to keeping the airport running safely," Mary-Liz says.
Auckland Airport has been encouraging its 271 front-line workers to take up vaccinations since they were made available to border workers earlier this year, offering staff paid time off work and sick days for anyone feeling unwell following their vaccines.
"We were supportive of the Government’s decision to introduce the mandatory order for all border workers to increase vaccination rates and following the current community outbreak of COVID-19 we made the decision to bring forward the requirement for our front-line employees."
All of Auckland Airport’s front-line workers that are on-shift have now been vaccinated, with small number awaiting their second doses. Three front-line staff members will be rostered on only after they’ve had vaccinations over the coming week.
Mary-Liz says Auckland Airport had also drafted new employment contracts for any future employees joining the company to include a vaccine requirement, including those working in non-front-line roles.
"We accept that views will differ and not everyone will agree with our position, but the safety and wellbeing of our people comes first, and we will continue to make the decisions that we think are right to protect our people and the community from the spread of COVID-19."
