Trade Union Solidarity has launched a court challenge to mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policies, saying blanket vaccine mandates that do not take into account the unique situation of individual employees or students will be illegal and undesirable.
The union, which has 140,000 mainly Afrikaans members, announced it had served papers on the University of the Free State, which recently introduced a mandatory vaccination policy. It said it plans to launch other court challenges to get clarity on mandatory vaccinations in the workplace.
The outcome of the court challenges will be crucial in providing legal guidance on vaccine mandates as the government considers the issue.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced recently that a task team was set up to look at mandatory vaccinations and restricting access to public places to people who were not vaccinated.
But mandatory vaccination policies have led to anger in some parts of the world, with critics saying such rules are unconstitutional and could be abused by employers who want to get rid of workers.
“At the moment, the South African labour market is faced with huge uncertainty regarding whether employers may compel their employees, or even universities their students, to get vaccinated,” said Solidarity CEO Dirk Hermann. He said that many employers exploit this uncertainty, and use it as an excuse to lay off employees without following correct procedures.
“This situation is exacerbated by our government, which consistently refuses to give clear direction in this regard. Meanwhile, we are seeing employees’ rights and livelihoods being threatened throughout SA. It cannot continue like this. We must obtain legal certainty,” Hermann said.
But Cosatu, SA’s largest trade union federation, has indicated its support for mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations.
Business lobby Business for SA (B4SA), formed after the Covid-19 outbreak to assist the government with policy responses, has said it expects an increase in legal action from employees opposed to mandatory vaccines and staff who feel their companies have not done enough to protect them from the unvaccinated. B4SA also wants a high court declaratory order, which would provide companies with legal certainty should they wish to introduce policies to make it compulsory for staff to be vaccinated.
Hermann said there is huge danger in a system where the government or other institutions can make vaccinations mandatory, thereby restricting people’s rights.
“No state should have such power, especially not one that already has violated the trust of so many of its people,” he said.
“On a practical note, we also see that [force] is detrimental to a long-term vaccination programme. It creates resistance, and it damages trust and relationships.
“International trends also show that countries with successful vaccination programmes did not make vaccinations mandatory, especially not in the workplace. South Africans have been kept in the dark far too long. The uncertainty is hurting our economy and our state of mind. Drastic action must be taken,” Hermann said.
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