Republished with permission from MERCOLA.COM
In a victory for people power, the South Australian government has done an about-face on a ruling that interstate truck drivers must have had at least one COVID vaccine shot before entering the state. The idea behind the mandate — which was to take effect September 24, 2021, but has since been squashed — was to slow the spread of COVID-19 from truck drivers entering the state from Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
The trucking industry protested, saying it would cause freight delays and labor shortages, and a forestry and logistics official said the ruling would make it difficult to get produce in and out of South Australia.
In neighboring New Zealand, trucker protests failed to materialize, according to industry sources. There, mandated vaccines apply only to high-risk border and MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) workers.
“I believe that people should not lose their jobs because they choose not to have a vaccination … and I don’t believe that is something you can just change their job description for,” said Jared Abbott, national secretary for First Union, which represents truckers. “The union supports vaccination, but it also would support members who rejected it,” he added.
SOURCES:
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