A major food producer will ban its employees from the workplace unless they get booked in to be vaccinated against Covid-19 within six weeks.
Canned fruit and vegetable processor SPC announced on Thursday it had given all of its 450 on-site employees until September 15 to schedule their first dose.
All staff and contractors at the company’s factory in Shepparton in regional Victoria must be fully vaccinated by the end of November.
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie praised SPC for ‘having the guts’ to make vaccinations mandatory for its staff.
Canned fruit and vegetable processor SPC announced on Thursday it had given all of its 450 on-site employees until September 15 to schedule their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Pictured is the SPC factory in Shepparton in central Victoria
‘The last thing we need is for food suppliers, which are so crucial, to be shutting down,’ she told the Today show on Thursday morning.
‘I applaud them, [for] having the guts to come out and do that.’ 
SPC’s edict followed tech giant Microsoft announcing all employees must show proof of vaccination before entering its US offices from September.
SPC is Australia’s primary producer of packaged fruit and its brands include Ardmona, Goulburn Valley, SPC, ProVital, Kuisine, and PomLife.
Chairman Hussein Rifai said the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant prompted the move – which is a first in Australia for non-health-related businesses.   
‘Lockdowns are not a sustainable solution and the Australian economy needs to open up again,’ he said.
‘The Delta variant poses a significant threat to our people, our customers and the communities we serve.
‘The only path forward for our country is through vaccination.’
All SPC workers will be offered paid time off to get their vaccinations.
‘Its not a matter of opinion. This is science. Vaccines work,’ he told The Australian. 
All staff and contractors at the company’s factory in Shepparton in regional Victoria must be fully vaccinated by the end of November
SPC Chairman Hussein Rifai said the emergence of the highly-contagious Delta variant had prompted the move – which is a first in Australia for non-health-related businesses
Staff will also get special paid leave of up to two days if they become unwell after vaccination.
SPC noted there might be some workers with a pre-existing condition who are unable to be vaccinated and their circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
SPC chief executive Robert Giles said the company was setting an example for others.
‘Australian companies must go further by rapidly vaccinating their staff,’ he said.
‘By taking proactive steps now, we are shoring up our company for the future.
‘We firmly believe that it will be manufacturers and innovators like SPC who will help drive Australia’s post-Covid economic recovery.’