Telstra chief executive Andy Penn revealed the company’s new plan to the company’s 28,000 employees on Monday morning, announcing a plan that could cost more than $5.7 million. Rather than mandating Covid vaccinations within the company, Mr Penn said it would offer $200 worth of “appreciation points” to employees who became fully vaccinated against the deadly virus.“As a team of many thousands serving many millions of customers, we have an important nation-building role to play. It is part of the fabric of our company. The quicker we are vaccinated, the quicker we are safer and stronger economically,” he said.“This is voluntary and will be applied retrospectively so anyone who has already been vaccinated will also receive these points.”The scheme could also be expanded to cover Telstra’s offshore call centre staff in India and the Philippines, Mr Penn said, where Covid had “impacted on a scale many of us in Australia cannot fully comprehend”.And the program would remain open until December 31 to accommodate workers who were not yet eligible or who had been unable to secure a jab yet.While encouraging employees to get protected against Covid-19, Telstra’s scheme stops short of mandating vaccinations, which had proven controversial. Food producer SPC announced plans to make Covid vaccination mandatory for its employees early in August, attracting criticism and even threats against the company on social media. SPC chief executive Robert Giles said the company made the decision “to ensure the safety of our staff as well as the broader community”.Mr Penn said Telstra would not rule out making Covid vaccination mandatory for some jobs in future.“We haven’t yet made getting vaccinated a requirement for certain roles,” Mr Penn said. “However, we will continue to consider relevant government and health advice, particularly for our people working in high-risk locations and with vulnerable people, such as aged care, hospitals and Indigenous communities. If that changes we will talk with you first.”Prime Minister Scott Morrison has previously ruled out making Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory in Australia, with the exception of workers in residential aged care facilities and for quarantine workers.
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