Telstra says it expects unions to support mandatory vaccination for its frontline staff of more than 8000.

The telco wants all of its customer-facing workers to be fully protected and a consultation period is currently underway.

Chief executive Andy Penn says the company believes vaccination is the only way forward.

“That is obviously the single most important thing to navigating our way out of these very difficult restrictions.

“I think everybody really understands that the right way forward is to protect our people and protect our customers.”

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