AT&T joined tech giants including Microsoft, Google and Facebook by setting a requirement for staff to have a Covid-19 (coronavirus) vaccination, a move set to affect 150,000 of the US operator’s unionised employees.

The operator set a deadline of 1 February 2022 for members of the Communications Workers of America union to provide proof of vaccination to access its own sites or when representing AT&T at other locations.

AT&T claims one of the nation’s largest unionised workforces. A vaccination requirement for managers who are not union members comes into force this month.

Rival T-Mobile US told Mobile World Live it was encouraging “employees to get vaccinated” but is flexible on timing because “some may need more”.

Verizon states on its website a mandate is “very unlikely”, though it is “encouraging everyone who is able to do so to get vaccinated”.