A disgruntled former Telstra employee has filed a classic action against the telco, regarding the company’s mandated vaccination policy.
Jodi Wruck filed the class action in the Federal Court last week, alongside “at least seven” ex-employees, who were terminated from various roles in December, after refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
“The proposed Covid-19 vaccination policy was a matter relating to and which affected the work health or safety of workers,” court documents said.
“Telstra was aware or ought to have been aware that the taking of Covid-19 vaccinations had been publicly reported to cause health problems in some individuals.”
Wreck argues that Telstra didn’t give employees ample opportunity to voice their concerns, and it exposed employees “to a possible risk of adverse health including serious illness and death”.
8,300 Telstra employees were required to be vaccinated under the company’s policy. As Telstra points out, its policies align with state and territory vaccine mandates.
“We undertook extensive consultation before we introduced our vaccination policy, including extending the period for consultation and making changes to our policy approach based on constructive feedback from our employees and unions,” a Telstra spokesperson said.
“Since introducing our vaccination policy in September 2021 we’ve had a very small number of people who have decided not to get vaccinated.
“We remain confident the right approach has been taken to protect our employees and customers, and is consistent with recent legal decisions regarding vaccination.”
