Teachers in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, will be sacked if they choose not to get vaccinated against Covid, the State Government has announced, as part of its plan to reopen schools from October. The Mail Australia has the story.
The plan will enforce mandatory vaccination for all teaching staff by November 8th, as schools begin a staggered return to face-to-face education from October 25th.
A NSW Department of Education survey revealed almost 70% of staff had received at least one dose of the vaccine, with 40% double jabbed.
But one in 10 workers said they were not booked in or planned to get immunised within the next month.
In a webinar video seen by Daily Mail Australia, Secretary of the NSW Department of Education Georgina Harrison warned staff about the mandatory jab requirement.
“It will mean under the public health order that they (teachers) are lawfully unable to work for us, and we will have to look at measures such as leave without pay until someone could get vaccinated, or possibly terminating their employment because it will be a requirement of employment,” Ms. Harrison said.
“This is a really significant and serious step, it has not been taken lightly. Know that it has been taken on the very best health advice about what will protect our whole school community the best as we plan for return.”
The move has outraged One Nation leader Mark Latham, who took to Twitter in a fury on Saturday to criticise the vaccination mandate.
“NSW Department of Education employs 100,000 people. Staff survey shows 10% do not plan to be vaccinated,” he wrote.
“Under yesterday’s mandatory vaccination announcement up to 10,000 are to be sacked by November. How can this be the policy when Covid is not a high-risk illness for children?”
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