The vaccine status of more than 1,000 workers is still unknown
The deadline for the vaccine mandate for Auckland Council employees is set on January 17, but the government revealed that about 1,600 staff members have yet to disclose their status to the office.
Auckland's workforce vaccination policy is giving staff until January 17 to get fully immunised against COVID-19 or they will not be given access to the council workplaces, according to a city announcement last year.
Jim Stabback, Auckland Council chief executive, said they reviewed carefully the risks raised by the virus and how to handle it before coming up with the workplace mandate. A consultation was made prior to the announcement last year, where 83% agreed the proposal, 14 people it down, while three per cent neither agreed nor disagreed with it.
"Through that work, we concluded that for our people to safely perform their roles, anyone who works for us, whether that be in our offices, facilities or out in the community, needs to be vaccinated," said Stabback.
Deadline nears
However, as the deadline draws close to Auckland workers, a new report from Stuff revealed that the vaccination status of 1,600 of 8,000 Auckland staff remains unknown. According to Stuff's report, almost 80% of the council workers have had their vaccination details processed, while the remaining information are not yet submitted to them, or the individuals in question are on leave.
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A previous survey from the company in October revealed that 91% of staff either received their first dose of the vaccine and are planning to get their second or are fully vaccinated. Another 2.1% said they intend to get vaccinated.
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Also on January 17, the following facilities will re-open to the public, but will need vaccination passes before being granted entry:
- Gyms/Fitness Functions
- Learn to swim programmes (for customers older than 12 years)
- Recreation/Leisure Centres
- Pools and aquatic centres
- Holiday parks
- Libraries
- Arts facilities
- Community centres
- Animal shelters
- Service Centres (integrated and standalone)
- Cemetery offices (with alternatives)
- Visitor Centres – Arataki, Botanic Gardens
- Tipping Point (Waitākere) recycling centre
Mayor Phil Goff expressed his support for the use of vaccine passes in a statement, where he said: "We have a responsibility to do all we can to reduce the possibility of transmission within our facilities and keep our staff and customers as safe as possible."