The implication of the FT’s piece below on a Royal Dutch Shell memo (and Adrian Gore’s “moral” justification for mandatory vaccines) is that this more targeted approach is not on the agenda in boardrooms. Maybe I’m the one missing something? Or maybe they are? Either way, we should at least be asking the question. – Alec Hogg
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Shell weighs vaccine mandate and firing staff who resist
By Derek Brower in New York and Tom Wilson in London for the Financial TimesÂ
Royal Dutch Shell is weighing whether to mandate vaccines for employees and fire those who refuse to comply, according to an internal memo sent to the oil supermajorâs executive committee.
The document, dated September 1, outlined a case for âselective vaccine mandatesâ initially at offshore and other remote locations where staff live and work and where other criteria were met, including the availability of World Health Organisation-approved vaccines.
Employees in other parts of the business could be subject to mandatory vaccination âover timeâ, the memo said.
âFor staff who refuse to comply with a vaccine mandate we would make all reasonable efforts to avoid terminating their employment but will be faced with no alternative but to do so,â the document said.
Some of the worldâs largest employers are wrestling with corporate vaccine policy in the face of surging cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, uneven access to vaccines around the world and resistance to jabs in some countries.
Last month, US oil producers Hess and Chevron said they would require some of their employees, including those working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The investment bank Goldman Sachs will require proof of vaccination starting next month, while Deloitte, the professional services firm, has said all staff must be vaccinated before entering US facilities from October 11.
Shell declined to comment. Its memo, seen by the Financial Times, was careful to avoid coming down firmly on a broader Covid-19 vaccination mandate, outlining arguments for and against a new policy before recommending mandatory shots only in those specific circumstances.
Shell should not be a âpioneerâ and should move âin step with governments and society on this controversial issueâ, the memo said. Members of the executive committee discussed the issue of mandating vaccines on Friday, a person familiar with the matter said.
According to the memo, the companyâs trading and supply division has already asked for vaccination to be mandatory for staff âbecause social distancing is impossible to achieve on a trading floorâ, while there had also been calls for vaccine mandates âin terminals, depots and manufacturing sitesâ.
Although the number of objections to a mandate was âlikely to be smallâ, those resistant to vaccination would be ânoisyâ, the memo said, adding that the number of objectors in the US Gulf could be higher because of the lower vaccination rates in the region.
A Carnegie Mellon University study published earlier this year found high vaccine hesitancy among oil and gas workers.
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