Sydney pubs might be open again in weeks, as government talks with industry on policies and timing and the possibility of ‘COVID passports’.
After eight hard weeks of lockdown, venues in NSW closed under COVID restrictions could be allowed to reopen as soon as September – but only for staff and patrons that are fully vaccinated.
Although daily case numbers are still breaking records and more areas around the state have come up as ‘hotspots’, the NSW state government has ruled out a state-wide lockdown.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is hopeful restrictions might be eased by September – if enough people got vaccinated – and the NSW government is in talks with the hospitality industry about conditional reopening.
“Once we hit milestones, once you get to 50 per cent vaccination, 60 per cent, 70 per cent, it obviously triggers more freedoms,” Berejiklian said at the start of August.
Sydney has been sweating under lockdown since 25 June, and while a plan to allow fully vaccinated people greater freedoms could see patrons in venues again, measures such as social distancing and the wearing of masks would need to continue.
This approach is being adopted in countries around the world and proving to be a compromise that allows communities to feel safe, while business gradually returns.
Importantly, people who are fully vaccinated can still get COVID, particularly the Delta strain, but severity and chances of hospitalisation or death are greatly reduced.
Laundy Hotels’ Craig Laundy told the SMH the only way he can envision pubs reopening is requiring staff and patrons are vaccinated and “not allowing those unvaccinated into my venues full stop”.
However, the current advice from Safe Work Australia is that compulsory vaccination is not a “reasonably practicable” policy, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled it out a federal level, suggesting employers must make their own decisions.
This presents a challenge for businesses in high-risk industries, such as hospitality, and both the Business Council of Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions say that while some workplaces may need all workers vaccinated, for the safety of patrons and each other, these are “serious decisions” that should not be left to up to individual employers to manage.
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has issued four tiers of work by employees, to assist decisions on workplace policy. It is feared vaccination policies could unleash a maze of discrimination disputes, where a vaccine mandate might go against other protections, such as disability, pregnancy or religious beliefs.
Even this is unclear, given that a decision that may appear discriminatory could be lawful in the context of being necessary to keep a workplace safe. This might take into account the type and square metreage of a business, or individual employees’ eligibility or even the availability of the appropriate vaccine.
Employers are best advised to speak with both unions and employees, and consider their preferences and opinion. Employers who do insist on vaccination should cover travel costs and paid leave – particularly if the person is unwell after the vaccination.
A mistake is to resort to the power of direction, according to Kamal Farouque, a principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, who specialises in employment law.
A worker not wanting to get vaccinated will be challenged on the quality of their reason, which would be crucial to assessment of their case, according to Farouque. A pre-existing medical condition might outweigh a risk of catching the virus, while one that simply didn’t want to get vaccinated might be eligible for dismissal.
At this point in the vaccine rollout a lot of young or immune-compromised people aren’t able to get the Pfizer vaccine, which is recommended for these groups, and this might be a factor in the decision.
NSW is set to pass 50 per cent one-shot vaccine coverage in coming days, as just over 25 per cent of the population over 16 years are now fully vaccinated. Government is considering the use of military troops to assist in medical clinics in virus-hit areas.
COVIDLive predictions suggests at least 70 per cent of Australians will be fully vaccinated by early November, and it is hoped the lure of being able to go to the pub again could spur rates to increase even quicker.
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The FWO’s four tiers of work
Tier 1: employees are required to interact with people with an increased risk of being infected with coronavirus (eg. employees in hotel quarantine or border control)
Tier 2: employees are required to have close contact with people who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of coronavirus (eg. employees in health or aged care)
Tier 3: where there is interaction or likely interaction between employees and other people, such as customers (eg. stores providing essential goods and services)
Tier 4: employees have minimal face-to-face interaction (eg. Those working from home)