Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie spoke with the Education Union's Jarvis Ryan about how today's vaccine mandate deadline is impacting the teaching industry

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Katie spoke with the Education Union's Jarvis Ryan about how today's vaccine mandate deadline is impacting the teaching industry · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Mix one O four point nine.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: It is just after ten twenty and as we know,
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: the countdown is well and truly onto that vaccine mandate
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: from midnight tonight. So we know for some businesses obviously
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: that are operating tomorrow, they'll have a fair idea as
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: to just how many people within their workplaces are vaccinated.
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  Speaker 2: But for some of our other industries, particularly those in education,
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: we probably won't have a really clear idea, is my guess,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: until Monday morning when schools go back. But joining us
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  Speaker 2: on the line right now is the head of the
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  Speaker 2: Education Union here in the Northern Territory, Javis Ryan. Good
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  Speaker 2: morning to you, Javis.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Good to be with you, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: Javis. Do we have much of an idea how things
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  Speaker 2: are tracking when it comes to our schools and those
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  Speaker 2: support staff for Monday morning.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: No, from where we're sitting, it's just it's anecdotal, little
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: stories here and there. The Department, I think has a
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: much clearer idea, but it seems that the NT government
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: line is they're deliberately being very vague about the numbers.
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  Speaker 1: So we know within education that they're able to capture
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  Speaker 1: that data through their HR system and so as of
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  Speaker 1: today they'll have a clear idea of who is either
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: not vaccinated or has not provided evidence of that, and
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: those employees will have been written to, I believe at
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  Speaker 1: least twice by the chief executive officer and look right
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  Speaker 1: up until the deadline. I mean, in the case of
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: school based employees, even this weekend, they could still go
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: and get their first dose than up on Monday. So
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  Speaker 1: what you said in your instroduction I think is right
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  Speaker 1: is that it won't be until Monday that there'll be
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  Speaker 1: a sense really of when the dust set a little bit,
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  Speaker 1: who will be there and who won't. But from what
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: we found, there's been only a really small number of
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  Speaker 1: people who have been absolutely Adam and I definitely will
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: not be getting the job. The time will tell.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I know, I've had a few people message in
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  Speaker 2: and say that they're aware of schools in different locations
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  Speaker 2: where some stuff are not going to get vaccinated. But
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  Speaker 2: as you said, there from the get go, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I guess until we actually have that data, we're really
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: not going to know. And it is a bit of
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  Speaker 2: his say at this point in time, it.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Is and I think because the government has decided the
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: mandate is a good thing, they don't want to acknowledge
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: that there will be knock on effects that cause problems.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: And what in our case what will happen is there
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  Speaker 1: are a lot of qualified teachers who work in corporate
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: roles and as necessary, they'll be deployed in schools from
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Monday to the patch up. Some of those hold So
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  Speaker 1: the message I exept will get is no disruption to
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: student learning, and no one wants to see that. But
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: there is a question about the impact this will have,
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: not just now but into the future. And as you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's not just speaching on the paper about police that nurses,
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: as firefighters, the whole groups of people. When you add
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  Speaker 1: all of those things up, it's about the territory being
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  Speaker 1: able to make sure we've got enough workers in all
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  Speaker 1: of our key industries. And you know, we're certainly hoping
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  Speaker 1: that in the end we get to a point where
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  Speaker 1: people make that decision. Yeah, it's obviously been contentious for
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: at least the minority.
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  Speaker 2: And Javis, I mean for all of the parents out
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  Speaker 2: there listening this morning. I guess there's no matter what
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  Speaker 2: the schools and the Education Department, I would presume, are
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: going to try to make things as smooth as possible.
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  Speaker 2: When it comes to ensuring that our children continue to
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  Speaker 2: be educated.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think there's any doubt about that, Katie,
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  Speaker 1: because really, in the even larger schools in daw And
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  Speaker 1: I've been into, we're talking about typically not more than
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  Speaker 1: one or two teachers who have been in this sort
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: of refusing or hesitant category. So that won't be an
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: issue to cover. But like I said, it's just we
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  Speaker 1: won't really know until until we get to them on Monday.
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  Speaker 1: They'll be a clearer idea. And there are some people
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  Speaker 1: who have negotiated to take leave or they're on leave
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  Speaker 1: and things like that, so that for some people that
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  Speaker 1: may sort of try and draw it out a little
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  Speaker 1: bit until the beginning of the twenty twenty two school year.
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  Speaker 1: And I think the department has taken a reasonably pragmatic
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  Speaker 1: approach on being reasonably sensitive about people's individual circumstances. As
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  Speaker 1: some staff are pregnant or they've got certain circumstances that
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: are they're asking to delay a little bit longer. But
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  Speaker 1: what is clear is as of Monday, without that first issue,
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  Speaker 1: you won't be able to be present on the work
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  Speaker 1: site job.
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  Speaker 2: As you've spoken before about the impacts in some of
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  Speaker 2: those remote communities. How are you feeling for those communities
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  Speaker 2: come Monday.
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's a much bigger unknown because there's this secondary
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  Speaker 1: workforce of school counsel employees not directly employed by the
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  Speaker 1: Education Department, and they can't centrally collect that data, but
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  Speaker 1: they have been doing it manually and again will they
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  Speaker 1: will have pretty good numbers by today, And again I
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  Speaker 1: think that information should should be shared by the government
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  Speaker 1: as long as well as the strategy on how they're
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  Speaker 1: going to address that. But from Monday. The other issue
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  Speaker 1: we have now is this there'll be new restrictions in
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  Speaker 1: remote communities and that's been sprung on, sprung on people
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  Speaker 1: this week and there's a lot of questions from remote
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  Speaker 1: school principles and others about mask wearing, rapid antigen testing,
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  Speaker 1: and so they haven't even digested the mandatory vaccination issue
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  Speaker 1: and now we're on to the next vaccine related or
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  Speaker 1: COVID related compliance and no detail whatsoever from the government,
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  Speaker 1: which is really disappointing.
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  Speaker 2: Really, So despite that announcement being made earlier in the week,
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  Speaker 2: there's been no real interaction from the government with those communities, well.
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  Speaker 1: Not with anyone to my knowledge. I rang the Minister's
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  Speaker 1: office educationists and they were playing catch up. So the
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  Speaker 1: questions I'm getting, you know, someone lives an hour outside
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  Speaker 1: of Catherine. The reading what was in the press release
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  Speaker 1: would indicate if they go into Catherine now for groceries
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  Speaker 1: or for any purpose, that they're in a Lovax community.
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  Speaker 1: On return to community, they will need to wear a
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  Speaker 1: mask at all times for at least seven days, and
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  Speaker 1: as of next Friday, will also need to undergo rapid
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  Speaker 1: antigen test. So there's all sorts of questions about how
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  Speaker 1: this scheme will work, who's administering it, who's enforcing it,
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  Speaker 1: and no detail whatsoever from from government on that and
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  Speaker 1: that comes into force in three days.
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  Speaker 2: Wow. Well, Jarvis Ryan, I reckon you and I might
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: be talking again early next week. By the sounds of it.
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  Speaker 2: I really appreciate you coming on the show this morning
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  Speaker 2: and giving us a bit of detail.
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  Speaker 1: Appreciate the time. Thanks can thank you,