Greater Wellington councils consider mandatory vaccination for council staff

Sunday, 10 October 2021

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said she personally agreed with mandatory vaccinations for incoming council staff – but that was not a decision she could make herself. (File photo)

Some Greater Wellington mayors believe it should be compulsory for council staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19, though none say they’ve implemented it yet.

It comes as the debate over mandatory vaccinations gathers interest in local government offices across the country.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said those coming into new jobs at the council should be vaccinated.

“For me, my personal opinion as a mayor would be to make it mandatory for staff going forward.”

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Baker said she had no power to implement such a mandate, all staffing decisions were in the hands of the chief executive.

Porirua City Council chief executive Wendy Walker said the organisation had received legal advice on mandatory vaccinations, but had not made any decisions about it.

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“We will consider it, but at the moment we are encouraging staff to get vaccinated,” she said. “The Government seem pretty keen on keeping it non-mandatory, but we have health and safety obligations too.”

Councils had a range of public-facing roles in libraries, pools and recreation centres where there was regular contact with the public which posed a risk, Walker said.

“It’s about the safety both for the customer and for our frontline staff, it’s about safety for our work colleagues,” says Upper Hutt mayor Wayne Guppy.

Porirua council’s conundrum is being faced by councils across the country – Waikato District Council was “gathering information” on the issue after reviewing the recent Employment Relations Authority case involving a Customs New Zealand employee.

In that case, the border protection officer refused the vaccine but was deemed to be at risk of exposure to the virus.

The employee refused the vaccine. Other roles were explored to lower the risk, but an agreement could not be reached and her employment at Customs was terminated.

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy said he too would like to see mandatory double vaccination for council staff.

“For me personally, this should not just be for council staff but for all. It’s about safety both for the customer and for our frontline staff, it’s about safety for our work colleagues.”

When asked about the legal and personal choice arguments against mandatory vaccinations, Guppy said: “Yes, but this is a virus that goes through our communities and takes no prisoners.”

Kāpiti Coast District Council Mayor K Gurunathan says imposing mandatory vaccinations raises “huge legal issues” for councils.

The council’s chief executive, Peter Kelly, said the organisation was not mandating vaccinations for staff but, “strongly encouraging” them to get double-jabbed.

Wellington City Council mayor Andy Foster said the council wanted clarity from Government over whether it could require its staff to have the vaccination.

More than 90 per cent of council staff had been vaccinated, but the council wanted to get to 100 per cent, he said.

Foster thought vaccine passports could soon become a requirement at public facilities, such as libraries or pools.

Hutt City Council chief executive Jo Miller said: “We are in a race to vaccinate, and to make sure as many staff as possible can be vaccinated.”

Miller said she was closely following Government guidelines about who had to be vaccinated – currently, no staff met the threshold for mandatory vaccinations, but it was a “moving feast”.

But Kāpiti Mayor K Gurunathan said mandatory vaccination was a “dilemma” for councils, with huge legal risks.

“I don’t think we have a right to impose mandatory vaccinations, we can’t even require staff to tell us if they’ve been vaccinated.”

Kāpiti Coast District Council offices had about 340 staff, Gurunathan said, and he thought it would be useful to ask the question, while not requiring an answer.

The council could only do its best to encourage staff, and Tū Ora Compass Health was giving vaccinations at the Kāpiti council office soon.

E tū union organiser Mat Danaher recently told Stuff the union did not support mandatory vaccination because people should have the right to “body autonomy”.

“But we do think vaccination is a good thing. So we need to provide education and the correct information to people, to address their concerns and decrease the number of hesitant workers.”