Queensland teachers facing a pay cut for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are dealing with "the consequences of that choice", federal Aged Care Minister Anika Wells says.
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Education Queensland is finalising disciplinary action against about 900 of 54,000 public schoolteachers, aides, administration staff and cleaners who were non-compliant with the state's directive to get vaccinated.
"School staff were given ample opportunity to follow the lawful direction or provide evidence as to why they should be exempt from the direction since the vaccination requirements were announced in November 2021," the department said in a statement on Wednesday.
The penalty imposed is specific to individual circumstances, but equates to a cut of of between $25 and $90 a week over 18 weeks, proportionate to normal pay.
"This is not an uncommon penalty to result from a disciplinary process," the statement said.
Ms Wells said staff involved knew the consequences of their decision, and teachers deserve a safe workplace.
"Everyone has the right to make a choice about whether or not to get vaxxed, but no one has the right to be free from the consequences of that choice, and these have been set out a long time coming and they've had their pay docked for the six months running up to this," she told Nine's Today program on Wednesday.
"So this isn't a surprise and something that the Queensland government is going to have to work through with the very small pocket of teachers, given 99 per cent are actually vaccinated."
Queensland Education Minister Grace Grace said disciplinary action was always on the cards for the unvaccinated workers.
"Other states sacked their teachers, they took that drastic action," she told reporters on Wednesday.
"That was always part of a disciplinary process. We decided not to go with that."
But Australian National University chancellor and former foreign minister Julie Bishop said the disciplinary action was "a very harsh outcome".
"Surely we've moved on from this now," she told Today.
"I would like to see the medical advice that would support such a penalty being imposed on people who, after all, have made a choice. It is pretty harsh."
Ms Bishop also pointed out the move to punish the 900 teachers and Education Queensland staff comes during a national shortage of teachers.
She said expecting people to still go to work but for lower pay than their colleagues was hard to justify.
"I don't think it passes any logical test and it is a penalty that they don't deserve," Ms Bishop said.
"We've learned how to deal with the COVID pandemic and docking teachers' pay, in particular, is a step too far."
Australian Associated Press
