Vaccine mandate for ILT staff

The Invercargill Licensing Trust could potentially lose up to 50 staff after introducing a vaccination mandate for all staff.

ILT chief executive Chris Ramsay advised its close to 600 staff yesterday they would be required to have at least one vaccine jab by Friday and be fully vaccinated by January 17, or provide a valid exemption.

Ramsay said it has been a tough, thorough process to work through, but ultimately it was the only decision it was able to come to for the ILT to remain profitable, and most importantly to ensure the safety of the staff and community.

‘‘It’s not an easy time for everyone, it’s people’s livelihoods it is affecting.’’

The Government’s traffic light Covid-19 framework will come into play at 11.59pm tomorrow night.

Invercargill will start under the orange-light restrictions which meant people wanting to attend hospitality businesses would need to have a vaccination passport.

Businesses that did not want to introduce the vaccine certificate mandate would only be able to operate as a takeaway service.

However, those attending ILT bottle stores will not require vaccine certificates given those outlets have been deemed essential services.

About ‘‘seven or eight per cent’’ of ILT staff were yet to be vaccinated, which equated to about 40 or 50 of the 600 staff.

Ramsay still had to have some conversations with affected staff to get a better understanding as to exactly how many staff they might now lose permanently. He acknowledged it could stretch their staffing resources heading into the busy Christmas period.

The ILT was one of many businesses that have had to grapple with the unique process of introducing a vaccine mandate for its staff.

PR Law director Mary Jane Thomas, who leads the firm’s employment practice, said business owners did not want to fire staff but found themselves having to let staff go.

Thomas urged businesses not to simply roll out the ‘‘no jab, no job’’ line because that in itself was not enough under employment law.

Businesses needed to put together a detailed risk assessment and go about a thorough consultation with staff before making a decision, otherwise, they could find themselves dealing with a personal grievance.

Thomas said an affected employee may claim they can carry out their job safely by wearing a mask, by working from somewhere else, or citing other avenues.

Meanwhile, Ramsay asked the public to be patient and understanding when, as of 11.59pm tomorrow, they would be asked to provide proof of vaccination at ILT venues.

‘‘These aren’t our rules, these are the rules we’ve been told to follow if we want to keep our businesses open.’’

ILT Stadium Southland general Nigel Skelt echoed Ramsay’s message. From Friday anyone over 12 will have to show their vaccine certificate to gain entry to the stadium.

McCreanor said the Pou Tiaki section of the Stuff website was a pillar for Māori representation, but across the wider website and other news agencies it appeared to be business as usual. That wasn’t necessarily a failure, but more than 100 years of reporting from one perspective wasn’t going to be turned around in 12 months.

‘‘I’m impressed by the section that covers Māori issues because that was never there before, [but] there’s still the mainstream mass media stories which don’t seem very different to me. I absolutely applaud what’s been done, but I’m acknowledging it’s a huge task to turn this around. It’s going to be many years in the making.’’

Stuff’s head of news Mark Stevens said he was proud of what the company had achieved in the past year, but it was a journey that was far from over.

‘‘In an ideal scenario, the day after I made that apology it would have been great if it was perfect.

‘‘But the best thing for me is, for anyone who looks at the way our newsrooms operated 10 years ago, it’s changed. Journalists are pausing to reflect on their stories – is it monocultural, is it diverse? Even our editors, you can see them adding on that multiple lens.’’

In the past year, the company introduced free te reo Māori classes for all of its staff, has seen an increase in Māori-identifying employees, uses more te reo Māori in stories, launched a dedicated Pou Tiaki team to represent Māori and other marginalised groups, introduced a company charter that includes upholding Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and has more projects in the pipeline dedicated to upholding its commitment to changing a long history of failures.

Stevens said mistakes have been made since the apology, but it was the awareness and commitment in newsrooms and in leadership to do better that would ensure Stuff never returned to the news organisation it once was.

‘‘Without a doubt, I’m proud of the steps we’ve made and the direction we’re going.

‘‘The apology is still here, we’ve still got work to do.’’