Mining giant BHP is rolling out a Covid vaccine mandate across Australia, meaning hundreds of employees will be without a job for refusing to get the jab.
Up to 700 employees across the country are expected to either be fired or forced to quit for not being fully vaccinated.
While many employees are expected to voluntarily leave the company, 250 employees in BHP’s Queenslanxjmtzywd operations have been told they face termination for their choice not to be vaccinated.
The company’s requirement for employees to be vaccinated as a condition of entry to workplaces came into effect on January 31 after unions lost a legal challenge.
BHP now anticipates up to 2 to 3 per cent of the entire workforce across Australia will leave the business, reports.
Three per cent of the mining giant’s 23,828 employees equates to 714 people either quitting or being fired.
While the federal government has not imposed vaccination mandates on all industries, only essential services such as aged care, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have made it compulsory for all workplaces.
Many major companies across the retail, finance and aviation industries have also imposed mandatory vaccine rules for employees.
BHP employees must provide proof of vaccination and will be reviewed if they refuse to do so.
Contractors must also be fully vaccinated if they wish to receive work from BHP.
A spokesman for the mining giant said many of the company’s staff chose to receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
“This is a necessary health and safety measure to help protect our people, their families and communities – including remote Indigenous communities – while continuing to safely run our operations,” the spokesman said.
“We will continue to work with our people as we implement this change.”
CFMEU Queensland mining division president Stephen Smyth said 60 union members had been stood down without pay for their refusal to get the jab.
Mr Smyth said BHP issued letters just one or two days after the mandate came into effect on January 31.
“Generally, our position has been that we didn’t support the mandatory vaccination by the employer. We’re really working through it,” he said.
“We still don’t know why the Queensland resources sector, which wasn’t subject to a public health order, required vaccinations.”
Some workers have chosen to walk away from BHP and find work elsewhere, Mr Smyth said, with some members leaving the industry entirely.
He claimed at least 20 per cent of BHP employees chose to get vaccinated reluctantly so they didn’t lose their jobs.
Global mining giant Anglo American has also sought to make vaccinations mandatory but has extended the deadline to March 31.
