Supermarket giant Coles makes major vaccine announcement for ALL staff across Australia – just weeks after rival Woolworths mandated the jab
- Supermarket giant Coles opts out of enforcing Covid-19 mandates for workers
- Over 70% of Coles employees are double-jabbed with 94% receiving one dose
- Woolworths flagged they will require staff to be fully vaccinated unless exempt
Coles has opted not to follow Woolworths in requiring all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19, instead relying on health orders in some states.
Company leaders on Wednesday outlined how they are encouraging staff to be vaccinated but stopped short of announcing health mandates.
Since the vaccine rollout Coles has partnered with State and Federal Governments to provide on-site vaccination for workers at distribution and manufacturing facilities.
Coles outlined outlined how they are encouraging staff to be vaccinated but stopped short of introducing vaccine mandates
Team members were also sent priority booking links and given paid personal leave while attending vaccination appointments.
More than 70 per cent of Coles employees in the most COVID-affected states of NSW and Victoria are fully vaccinated. More than 94 per cent have had one shot.
Vaccine mandates only currently apply to staff working in Victoria, NSW, the ACT, WA and the Northern Territory.
More than 70 per cent of Coles employees in the most COVID-affected states of NSW and Victoria are fully vaccinated
Those in NSW and the ACT will need to have had the jab by December 17.
Staff in Victoria, the NT and Western Australia have already been required to get the vaccine under health mandates.
Coles chief executive Steven Cain told shareholders at an annual general meeting these orders had been highly successful in increasing vaccination rates.
He said Coles will continue to work with health authorities and staff to strongly encourage the uptake of vaccination in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.
Vaccines are currently not required as a condition of work in those states.
Last month, Woolworths flagged it will soon require Australian employees to be vaccinated unless they have a medical or religious exemption.
Woolworths flagged it will soon require Australian employees to be vaccinated unless they have an exemption
While supermarkets have not been major transmission sites during the pandemic, there have been some cases linked to stores during outbreaks across the country.
Supermarkets have been among the hotspots for people spreading the virus during the pandemic.
Coles improved full-year profit by 7.5 per cent to $1.01 billion for its financial year to June 27.
Shareholders received a fully-franked final dividend of 28 cents per share, better than the 27.5 cents paid a year earlier.
Shares in the retailer on the ASX were down 0.28 per cent to $17.63 at 1142 AEDT.
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