SkyCity Entertainment Group chief executive officer Michael Ahearne has announced that COVID-19 Vaccination Certificates will soon be a requirement for entry to all SkyCity sites across New Zealand.
Michael says the decision will ensure that SkyCity has in place the highest available levels of protection against COVID-19 for its people and customers to meet its legal obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015.
"As one of the biggest entertainment venues in New Zealand, and a significant employer in New Zealand, we need to take measures to help keep Kiwis safe.
"While we have existing safety controls in place to mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19, public health information and research confirm that COVID-19 vaccines will provide the best protection for our staff and customers.
"As the result of running a risk assessment process SkyCity expects the CVC requirement will cover all employees (around 2900), customers, contractors and visitors at our New Zealand sites to protect them from the harmful effects of COVID-19, as well as minimising the risk of COVID-19 transmission within our sites, workplace, and the wider community.
"Very early on we set the target of 100 per cent of all eligible SkyCity employees being fully vaccinated and, over the past six months, we’ve been strongly encouraging our people to get vaccinated at the earliest opportunity. We’ve supported this by providing them with paid time off to get vaccinated, petrol vouchers for travel and holding vaccination events for staff across the country.
"SkyCity has been significantly impacted by the August Delta outbreak, particularly in Auckland where our flagship property has been closed for 72 days. Supporting the vaccination targets set by the Government is going to help our industry reopen, stay open and recover faster," says Michael.
An employee survey process has commenced to ensure SkyCity staff have the opportunity to provide feedback on the new requirements.
