The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said that it had been inundated with complaints from people who claimed they had been pressured to get a COVID vaccination. These included tenants being threatened with eviction if they did not vaccinate.
Employees and tenants were not the only ones coming forward; companies had also approached the commission for guidance and clarification. The situation is something of a grey area for employers, according to the Department of Labour’s director-general Thobile Lamati.
“Can the employer then force the employees to take the vaccine? This is a very difficult question because we have different work places and different situations,” he said, adding that a worker could not be compelled to take a vaccine without the risks being explained to them.
On Friday morning, acting Health Minister Mmamaloko Kubayi-Ngubane reiterated that vaccination was purely voluntary and confirmed that employers were not allowed to force workers to get the jab.
Nevertheless, the government is encouraging all eligible South Africans to achieve herd immunity, and exit the cycle of waves and economically crippling lockdowns. However, inoculation has not been mandatory, with a target of around two-thirds of the population vaccinated. In a statement, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that only one in ten South Africans now believed that COVID vaccines were not safe.
The commission’s Buang Jones said they would also be examining the reasons given by some people refusing to receive vaccines.
“The reasons may range from medical, religious or other constitutional accounts. But complainants will be requested to take us through their reasoning and the team will be offering advice to those who have complained to the commission.”
Jones said that companies also voiced concerns about the negative impact that COVID had had on their finances.
“That they would like staff to be at work and ensure that the company functions optimally. Their concern is there will be increases in sick leave taken and it will affect production. They are also concerned about the rights of other employees to have chosen to take the vaccine.”
Source: Eyewitness News
