Tradies can get back to work but only if they get COVID-19 vaccine

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has announced construction workers can return to the job assuming they meet certain criteria (Source: Getty)

Construction sites around Greater Sydney, Central Coast. Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour will resume operations from Wednesday this week.

Sites will operate at 50 per cent capacity with enhanced COVID19—safe measures to help keep workers safe.

Deputy Prime Minister John Barilaro said unoccupied construction sites will resume work with new worksite capacity limits and introduce minimum vaccination requirements for workers from the eight affected local government areas (LGAs).

This means that workers from these LGA’s will need to meet certain vaccination requirements before they can return to the worksite:

• Blacktown

• Campbelltown

• Canterbury-Bankstown

• Cumberland

• Fairfield

• Georges River

• Liverpool

• Parramatta

Tradies from those LGA’s must provide proof they have received:

• two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine,

• one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at least three weeks before attending work

• one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and, if less than three weeks since that vaccine was administered, a negative COVID-19 test in the previous 72 hours

“We want workers back on the tools, but we need to continue to keep this virus at bay, and so by opening unoccupied worksites at 50 per cent capacity and vaccinating workers from within those affected LGAs, we can achieve both,” Barilaro said.

“Construction workers from the affected LGAs will be added to the list of authorised workers allowing them to work on unoccupied construction sites in Greater Sydney if they meet the vaccination conditions.”

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said construction was critical to the state’s economy and employed hundreds of thousands of workers.

“Construction has helped maintain our strong economy throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, but many of our projects and workers are located within the eight affected local government areas,” Perrottet said.

“For the industry to remain viable, we need to restart those projects and get construction workers where they are most needed. But we also need to minimise the risk of COVID-19 transmission to keep our communities safe, and these measures will help us achieve that balance.”

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