A PROMINENT Mildura builder says the Victorian Government’s vaccination push is putting the construction industry under pressure.
JD Construction owner Josh Dawson said the government’s mandate that construction operators request staff and subcontractors provide proof of vaccination was “affecting livelihoods” and putting his company in a “challenging” position.
Mandatory vaccination directions for construction operators came into effect last Saturday but Mr Dawson said people needed time to make informed decisions.
“We support our staff whatever their choice is, but unfortunately (with) the new law … we risk fines, we risk our sites being shut down if our staff and contractors aren’t vaccinated,” he said.
“It shouldn’t have to be a decision that we have to make as a business owner, but our hands are tied with it.
“The worst thing is it’s such a short timeframe on this. I believe the HIA (Housing Industry Association) and Master Builders (Victoria) are lobbying to have (the vaccination deadline) extended because obviously people need to make informed decisions without being forced to rush into it.”
Under the mandatory vaccination obligation, construction workers and subcontractors must provide proof of vaccination or have a vaccination booking by September 24.
If unvaccinated, they must receive their first dose by October 2, unless they can provide medical reasons for not being able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Mr Dawson said his company had spoken with MPs connected to the Independent Builders Network and had further meetings regarding workplace relations planned to make sure his company addressed its obligations in the correct way.
“We’ve been back and forth on the phone for three days now to just about every governing body in the industry.
“We haven’t got any work done (administratively) in the last three days other than trying to get across this situation in such a short timeframe.”
While his business was still free to operate, Mr Dawson said the suddenness and uncertainty about the reach of the mandate had put stress on him and his staff.
“We didn’t even get notification of that metro (Melbourne) shut down. As of Monday night we were still uncertain whether regional (construction) was going into lockdown as well.
“I received an email from the Victorian builders’ association about 11pm that night.
“I had to inform all my guys at about 6am the following morning that they were OK to still come to work because we went to bed … without knowing what we were doing.”
