Today's Labour News

Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes that the vaccination of health workers against Covid-19 has proceeded without encountering any significant resistance from their ranks.

The second phase of vaccination, which will involve the vaccination of essential workers, people in congregate settings and those with underlying comorbidities, will follow in about May. But, a legal debate is raging about whether an employer could make vaccination compulsory. Du Plessis points out that in navigating their approach to the vaccine, employers will need to adopt a risk-based methodology and balance health and safety obligations with the constitutional rights of their employees. With the wage negotiation season set to commence soon, it would be ideal for unions and especially big employers to conclude talks on vaccination issues before the vaccines for phase 2 arrive and the wage negotiations start. To avoid unnecessary litigation and to protect jobs, individual employers and unions should seek to agree on the approach to deal with the non-vaccinated. For instance, to deal with situations where vaccination could be regarded as an inherent requirement of the job, or where people have to work together in confined spaces. There is also the thorny issue of whether delegates who have not been vaccinated would be allowed to physically participate in the wage negotiations. Du Plessis also believes that the list of wage demands might look very different in 2021, with Covid-19 having such an effect on employment. He says the focus will most likely shift to the social wage and job security. To counter a likely union demand for a moratorium on retrenchments, employers may see an opportunity to push for mandatory vaccination as a quid pro quo.

• Read Gideon du Plessis’ article in full at BusinessLive

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