By Maia Hart
Marlborough District Council has not finalised its staff Covid-19 vaccination policy, despite other council's across New Zealand introducing mandates for employees.
Photo: Brya Ingram / Stuff via LDR
In Christchurch, Covid-19 vaccination became mandatory for all staff on 10 January, resulting in 13 job losses.
And Tasman District Council staff have until 4 March to provide proof of vaccination.
Tasman District Council chief executive Janine Dowding said the emergence of the highly-transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the region elevated the risk to staff and community.
On Thursday, a Marlborough District Council spokesperson said it was currently consulting staff on its draft vaccine policy. It was expected to be finalised early next month. Consultation began on 11 January.
The council had vaccination details of all employees who legally had to be vaccinated against Covid-19, such as those who interacted directly with the public.
It had also sought voluntary declarations from those not legally required to get vaccinated.
He said the proposed policy showed the council was committed to keeping its staff and people with whom they come into contact with, healthy and safe.
"It's proposed that council will undertake risk assessments for roles in relation to the risk posed by Covid-19," the spokesperson said.
"Where a risk assessment determines there is a high risk of contracting and transmitting Covid-19 to others, council will require that such work is only undertaken by vaccinated workers."
He said there were two reasons why the council would require a role to be undertaken by someone who was vaccinated; when it had been mandated by a public health order or required by law, or when an individual was not able to perform their role due to third party requirements such as restricted access by vaccine mandates.
"For all roles, receiving the vaccine is strongly encouraged," the spokesperson said.
"The council believes that being fully vaccinated is a significant control mechanism in gaining more protection in the work place and helps to contribute towards making the community safer."
Meanwhile, Marlborough District Council this week maintained it did not intend to introduce My Vaccine Pass requirements at council premises such as libraries, customer service counters, and waste management services or in public places such as parks, reserves, and sports fields.
Blenheim Library, where vaccine passes are not required. Photo: LDR / Chloe Ranford
It meant Marlborough's libraries were open with restrictions on the number of people allowed in the buildings; these restrictions were 100 people in Blenheim and 50 in Picton.
The council's stance is in stark contrast to other councils. On the West Coast, the regional council this week decided to shut its offices under the red setting of the government's Covid-19 traffic light system.
Under the government's Covid-19 protection framework, public facilities such as libraries, art galleries, and museums can choose whether to ask for a vaccine certificate at any traffic light level.
In other areas, such as Christchurch, Auckland, Tasman District, Nelson and New Plymouth vaccine passes are required in order to enter council libraries.
Marlborough Mayor John Leggett said he understood all councillors had been vaccinated, and received boosters where eligible.
"I put it to everybody after a council meeting. Everybody is vaccinated, that's my understanding," he said.
Leggett said despite some councils coming out with vaccine mandates for staff, it was not a path they wanted to go down.
"But of course any staff that are fronting the public have got to be vaccinated, otherwise they have to work off site or in a position where they aren't a risk to the public," he said.
He said the council's stance on vaccination was something it monitored daily.
"We have to keep it under review, and the reality is things are starting to tighten up around the traffic light requirements, and we'll react and do what we need to do to comply with all of the requirements," he said.
"We still want people to take personal responsibility, and that's a message the government are really pushing as well. There are individual responsibilities, and we all have to [be] a part of it."
Local Democracy Reporting is a public interest news service supported by RNZ, the News Publishers' Association and NZ On Air.
