The ALC says that it’s time Government prioritised freight and supply chain workers for vaccination, given the frontline risks they face every day ensuring essential supplies reach destination.
Freight and supply chain workers have been at the frontline since the beginning of the pandemic. In March 2020, Australia confronted distressing scenes of empty supermarket shelves and vulnerable community members going without necessities due to panic buying. Industry mobilised to meet our community’s needs, and workers deemed ‘essential’.
In response to the COVID-19 threat, we saw the efficiency and speed by which public policy and legislation could be drafted and enacted by the National Cabinet approach – and the country reaped the benefit of the federation working together. However, it is now evident this approach has once again fallen back to the old familiar practices we used to see with COAG (Council of Australian Governments). Cabinet leadership is disenfranchised, with each State and Territory going its own way based on the risk profiles of its leaders – and at times neglecting the best advice on hand. We are witnessing this through the glacial pace of the national vaccination rollout and snap lockdowns.
Every day Australians now appreciate the essential work undertaken by freight and supply chain workers. Unfortunately, government lacks empathy for this workforce. Governments have failed these workers by their lack of inclusion in the early phases of the vaccine rollout. With each new set of lockdowns, we see new requirements thrust onto this workforce, often without prior warning. Many workers report having undergone over 50 tests since the start of the pandemic. However, they continue to get on with their jobs despite the increased requirements and stress of going into high-risk situations.
The sector’s workers undergo mandatory COVID surveillance testing every seven days – and as frequently as every 72 and 24 hours in some jurisdictions – to facilitate travel between state borders delivering essential items to communities.
It makes logical sense that the government should prioritise vaccination for workers being tested with high frequency – because they are the ones most at risk.
These workers need to be prioritised.
Businesses and operators have gone to great lengths to encourage compliance and protect their workforces and the communities they serve, including proximity detectors for workers in distribution centres, workforce bubbles, sophisticated COVIDSafe plans, and on-site COVID testing facilities.
These businesses are offering to set up on-site vaccination facilities to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of their workers (and ultimately communities) by reducing the risk of transmission in distribution centres and by long-haul and last-mile drivers.
The Commonwealth controls the supply of vaccines, and without access, these businesses cannot set up these facilities. Australia has a significant stockpile of AstraZeneca and ATAGI has changed its advice in line with the risk posed by COVID in the community.
Industry should have access to Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to set up on-site vaccination facilities run by contracted health providers, similar to how on-site testing facilities operate.
The freight and supply chain has not faltered during the pandemic. Every day, these workers continue to go into high-risk environments to ensure we all receive our essential goods and commodities. It is now time for governments to acknowledge the risk these essential workers undertake by providing support via access to vaccinations and accessible testing on-site and off-site to ensure their safety and that of the community.
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