The Northern Territory Government has stood down 364 public servants who would not comply with the local government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which required all public servants to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 13.
They will also need to have received their second jab by Christmas Eve.
“So it is simple. If your job includes interacting with members of the public, then you need to get the jab,” he said.
The NT government has also implemented a $5,000 fine for those who turned up to work unvaccinated.
Northern Territory Public Service (NTPS) Union secretary Erina Early said she expects the public sector to be impacted by the departure of the 364 workers due to the mandate.
“All the NTPS Unions are unsure how our members are going to continue to provide services expected of Territorians with lesser resources and staff,” she said.
However, this exodus of public servants may be a boon for those public servants who have chosen to receive a vaccine after Chief Minister Michael Gunner has proposed putting the extra funds from the staffing losses towards a more significant annual bonus for the remaining public servants.
Specifically, workers would receive a $4,000 bonus in the first year of a new enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA), with $2,000 instalments each year for the following three years.
Gunner said the $4,000 bonus was in recognition of the public sector’s hard work and would keep workers in the Territory.
However, this would come at the cost of a four-year pay freeze.
Gunner’s original proposal for a $1,000 a year bonus coupled with a four-year pay freeze was rejected by the majority of public servants earlier this year.
She added that the offer may be a cash grab and that “It is still a wage freeze regardless of what bonuses they table.”
Gunner has called for public servants to vote on his new proposal before Christmas and stated that the loss of the 364 workers will not impact service delivery.