Unions have welcomed the Victorian government’s decision to expand vaccine mandates to more than 1 million workers.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, announced on Friday that all Victorian residents on the state’s authorised worker list must have a first Covid vaccine dose by 15 October in order to continue working on site.

The extensive list includes professional sportspeople, faith leaders and workers in frontline services, hospitality, media and the government. Under the rule, authorised workers must be fully vaccinated by 26 November.

The new deadlines will not apply to Victorian workers in aged care, healthcare, freight, construction and education, sectors that have existing mandatory vaccination timelines.

Guardian Australia understands key unions were not informed of the expanded mandate ahead of the announcement being made on Friday.

Tim Kennedy, the national secretary of the United Workers Union, said the mandate was a matter of “protecting people from Covid-19 and ending lockdowns as soon as possible to protect people’s mental health and well-being”.

“For vaccinations mandated by public health orders, workers need to vaccinate in order to protect themselves, their communities and those in their care,” he said.

“Everyone that can get a vaccine should get a vaccine. It’s a collective response to a collective problem. It’s how we show solidarity in this crisis.”

In a statement on Friday evening, the Victorian Trades Hall Council said employers should provide paid vaccination leave so that “every worker has the opportunity to get vaccinated” ahead of the mid-October deadline.

“Employers should also provide additional paid leave for the small minority of workers who may experience any vaccine side effects,” it said. “There must be safety nets in place for any worker who has difficulty accessing a vaccine in time and job protections for any workers who may have genuine medical reasons they cannot get vaccinated.”

Mandatory vaccinations have been opposed by some, including veteran Liberal MP Russell Broadbent, who told the South Gippsland Sentinel-Times he was unvaccinated. Under the Victorian rules, Broadbent would not be able to attend his electorate or ministerial offices after 15 October.

However, Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano told the ABC on Friday the consultation around the decision was “ludicrous”.

“I think the entire population is sick and tired of announcements being made on the fly without any detail or consultation with stakeholders that matter,” she said.

“It’s not my job as a farm owner, or at the VFF, to tell people what’s the right choice in regards to their health.”

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protesters clashed with police in central Melbourne on Saturday, on a day Victoria recorded 1,488 new local Covid infections – the highest daily case number since the beginning of the pandemic.

The Communication Workers Union, which represents Australia Post and telecommunications workers, has previously refused to back mandatory vaccinations.

Other unions had expressed their support for vaccination prior to the Victorian government’s announcement. In a statement on Thursday, the National Tertiary Education Union said it believed “requirements for vaccination should be determined by public health orders, not individual employers”.

“While exceptions will need to be made for those who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons or other legally recognised exemptions, the NTEU believes all people who set foot on a [university] campus should be vaccinated.”

The position of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, whose members include journalists and sportspeople, is that “workers in our industries should be vaccinated where it is reasonable and safe to do so”.

“MEAA believes that the collective good and the vibrant future of our industries are best served by vaccination and the expert guidance of the Australian medical community.”

Post source: Guardian

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