Nedlac backs call for mandatory workplace jabs

Government, business, organised labour and other social partners are reaching consensus that mandatory vaccinations would have to be imposed by workplaces if the spread of Covid-19 and its variants is to be effectively combated.

This was revealed by National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) executive director Lisa Seftel and employment and labour minister Thulas Nxesi who were addressing the council’s annual national summit.

The Nedlac summit had focused on the progress made by the social partners in implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) meant to counter the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic as well as implementation of other measures aimed at combating it.

Nxesi said Nedlac, through its rapid response task team, had already approached the government last week and proposed that inoculation, through his department, be made mandatory in workplaces where a risk assessment required it.

This would also be accompanied by the restriction of access to certain venues, gatherings and events, particularly in the hospitality sector, for unvaccinated people.

“While the social partners believe that vaccine mandates will pass constitutional scrutiny, they support the work of Busa [Business Unity SA] to get a declarator from the Constitutional Court in the new year,” Nxesi said.

The declarator referred to the decision by Busa to approach the apex court in a bid to have mandatory vaccination declared legally permissible amid opposition to forced vaccinations by South Africans.

Just over 35% of South Africans have been vaccinated while the target for securing herd immunity from Covid-19 was 67%.

The proposals by Nedlac are awaiting the consideration and final stamp of approval by the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) and other government structures.

Seftel said: “The social partners have agreed that, as organised business, labour and community, to promote vaccination and protect the country from lockdowns, workplaces should require employees to be vaccinated to enable occupational health and safety.”

Cosatu had initially vowed to oppose any move to force workers to vaccinate but the federation has changed its tune and backed the push for mandatory vaccination.

Professor Koleka Mlisana, co-chair of the Covid-19 ministerial advisory committee (MAC) pointed out that while there had been much deliberation among social partners and efforts to address vaccination hesitancy among South Africans, the voice of civil society, which ensured that advocacy reached communities as had been the case on previous campaigns around HIV/Aids, had been weak.

Mlisana pointed out that current vaccine hesitancy could be attributed to a loss of trust in the current political leadership by citizens.

“Maybe people have lost trust in the heroes that used to lead... the political leadership and the politicians that are currently in place,” she said.