Food supplier incentivises staff jabs

FOOD wholesaler Natures Cargo is offering the company’s one-hundred and ten staff an incentive to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

Sales manager Ben Wilkie said the Invermay Park based food supplier is offering their fully-vaccinated staff members $50 vouchers to spend with Natures Cargo customers across Ballarat including takeaways, bakeries, cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs.

“We considered offering staff time off, but we thought giving a $50 voucher to spend with one of our 300-plus customers puts the money back into our community and supports hospitality businesses that are all struggling big time,” he said.

“We’re doing this to keep our team and their families safe, to get our community open and back up and running, and because when venues hurt, we hurt just as much.

“We’re not going to avoid future lockdowns until we get that 80 per cent vaccination number, so doing this hopefully encourages those in our business to get out there and get vaccinated as soon as possible, which helps everyone in the community, not just our business.”

Since the initiative began last Wednesday, Mr Wilkie said staff feedback has been positive, with employees sending through proof of full vaccination and their preferred business to spend the voucher.

“This is not only a great way to support our customers and encourage our staff to do the right thing by the community, but a way for us to encourage other businesses alike to jump on board and do a similar thing,” he said.

“It doesn’t even have to be businesses, it could be any organisation in the community offering incentives to encourage people to get vaccinated, because everyone stands to benefit once we hit that 80 per cent vaccination rate and lockdowns are a thing of the past.”