Cosatu plans to challenge mandatory Covid-19 vaccination at a “national, policy level” and wants workers who have been dismissed for noncompliance to be reinstated.
Matthew Parks, Cosatu’s parliamentary co-ordinator, told Business Day that while the labour federation supports vaccination against Covid-19, it cannot support the dismissal of workers in a country of 60-million people where only about 14.9-million have jobs.
There is a “diversity of views” among Cosatu’s affiliates, many of which regard mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policies as “polarising”, he said.
He added that while it is up to individual unions to take up the matter “on the ground” with various companies or sectors that have instituted mandatory Covid-19 vaccination, Cosatu will be lobbying for the reinstatement of workers who were dismissed for noncompliance at a “national, policy level”.
“Cosatu supports the vaccine rollout programme and ... we believe that education and addressing the fears of workers and society is the best way to persuade people to vaccinate,” it said in a statement on Tuesday.
“Threatening and dismissing workers only serves to poison what has already become a very charged and divided debate across the world.”
Cosatu’s response may be the first salvo in a broader worker-led war against mandatory workplace vaccination.
Unlawful
It follows a recent Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) ruling that suggests such policies may be unlawful.
“The federation calls on all workers who have been dismissed to approach their unions and lodge grievances with the CCMA and labour courts,” Cosatu said.
“SA is a constitutional democracy, and this means that we need sober employers to work with stakeholders to resolve complex and sensitive matters. Dismissing workers who have fears only serves to create divisions.”
Standard Bank made an abrupt U-turn on mandatory vaccination late on Monday after threats by finance union Sasbo to challenge the dismissal of at least 40 of its members for non-compliance.
Sasbo, which represents about 73,000 workers in the financial services sector, said while it welcomes Standard Bank’s decision to withdraw the policy, it does not regard the matter as closed.
Sasbo secretary-general Modime Joe Kokela said the union will not only be demanding the reinstatement of Standard Bank employees dismissed for not complying with mandatory vaccination, but it also wants those who have been placed on special leave for the same reason to be able to return to work “unconditionally”.
‘Constructive dismissal’
Sasbo said it will be evaluating the situation of workers who resigned due to Standard Bank’s mandatory vaccination policy as it regards these exits as “constructive dismissal” — a labour law term for resignations that occur in response to intolerable conduct by employers.
Kokela added that Sasbo will engage with Old Mutual about the reinstatement of at least 49 members dismissed for non-compliance with the firm’s mandatory vaccination policies.
Old Mutual told Business Day the 49 employees were dismissed only after they refused both Covid-19 vaccination and the option to undergo regular testing for the virus.
The group said it amended its policies on June 22 and mandatory vaccination for employees is no longer in place.
While Sasbo is aware of the mandatory vaccination policies of other financial services firms such as Discovery, Sanlam and Santam, Kokela said the union is not aware of any members dismissed at those firms for noncompliance.
Santam told Business Day that it reviewed its vaccination policy towards the end of June and, given that more than 90% of its employees are vaccinated, it believes the risk posed by Covid-19 in the workplace has been “significantly reduced”.
While Santam still requires new employees to be vaccinated or to apply for exemption, it no longer requires verified vaccination status to access its offices.
Nonvaccinated employees are not required to undergo Covid-19 screening to access its offices, though they must work from another location if they test positive for the virus.
Sanlam, which owns about 62% of Santam, also said it had relaxed some of its Covid-19 policies from June 23 thanks to the “overwhelming majority” of its staff being vaccinated. Both companies said they had not dismissed any staff for non-compliance with their policies.
While Absa, FirstRand, Nedbank, Investec, Capitec, Coronation and Sygnia said they had not instituted mandatory vaccination policies, Ninety One had not responded by the time of publication.
Discovery said while its mandatory vaccination policy remains in place, no employees have been dismissed for non-compliance though it added that 98% of staff are vaccinated.
“For the small number of employees who objected to Covid-19 vaccination and remained unvaccinated, reasonable accommodation has been agreed in the vast majority of cases,” said Ronald Whelan, the head of Discovery’s Covid-19 task team. “Employees whose objections to vaccination were not deemed to be reasonable and justifiable by the objections subcommittee and an independent appeals committee received warning letters for noncompliance.”
The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) said that while it has always encouraged vaccination against Covid-19, it believes it should be a voluntary process. “It is irresponsible for employers to impose mandatory workplace vaccination because we believe it should be a consultative process that is not imposed on workers,” Fedusa general secretary Riefdah Ajam said.
‘Get vaccinated’
"[But] we will do everything we can to encourage our members to get vaccinated.”
National Council of Trade Unions general secretary Narius Moloto said the council is “totally against” mandatory workplace vaccinations, a policy it regards as “wrong”.
“Vaccinations must be voluntary because people have a right to refuse to be vaccinated,” said Moloto. “That right must be upheld. Such employers are simply arrogant.”
SA Federation of Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi described the recent CCMA ruling as “an important victory” for workers and suggested that there is a hidden agenda behind the insistence by employers on mandatory Covid-19 vaccination.
“They are using vaccine mandates to achieve their nefarious goals, and we reject this,” said Vavi.
“They are using it to retrench workers. Such employers who are forcing vaccines on workers must be charged for undermining the constitution that gives every worker the right to integrity of their body.”
Update: July 12 2022
This story has been updated with comment from Old Mutual, Investec, Capitec, Nedbank, Sygnia and Coronation.
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