Standard Bank has withdrawn its Covid-19 mandatory vaccination policy just days after finance union Sasbo vowed to challenge the lender’s dismissal of at least 40 of its members for not complying with the policy.
Africa’s biggest lender by assets has withdrawn the policy “with immediate effect” as 95% of its employees are already vaccinated against Covid-19, the bank said in a statement late on Monday.
Sasbo, a union representing about 73,000 members in the finance sector, on Friday demanded that Standard Bank repeal its vaccine mandate, which the union said required all staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by April 4 or face dismissal.
Standard Bank initially refused to comment on the issue when contacted by Business Day but said in its Monday statement that it would be “revising some of its safety measures and the existing Covid-19 policy and protocols”.
In reviewing its policy, the bank took a range of factors into account, including recent regulatory developments, the current state of the pandemic in SA, and the high vaccination rate among its employees.
“Based on the current context of the pandemic, we believe that our vaccination policy is no longer required,” Standard Bank SA CEO Lungisa Fuzile was quoted as saying in the bank’s Monday statement. “Consequentially, it is no longer compulsory for employees to be vaccinated, or to produce a negative PCR or rapid antigen test if they are unvaccinated, in order to enter our premises.”
Nevertheless, Standard Bank said that while it has opted to withdraw its mandatory vaccination policy it still continues to support and encourage vaccination against Covid-19. The bank added that should circumstances with respect to the pandemic change, it may in future review or adjust its vaccination policy and workplace protocols to maintain a safe working environment for its employees.
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