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BL Premium reports that the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) has joined other labour bodies in opposing mandatory vaccinations in the workplace, thereby dealing a major blow to a possible vaccine mandate.
Amcu on Tuesday said its members must take the vaccine voluntarily. It indicated that forced vaccination would be in breach of the Protection of Personal Information Act, which was promulgated to protect people’s personal information, and section 14 of the National Health Act, which gave all patients the right to confidentiality. “Mandatory vaccination forces employees to disclose their medical information, including their vaccination status, therefore taking away the right to privacy,” Amcu said in a statement on Thursday. The trade union further warned that the vaccine mandate might be abused to terminate the jobs of some employees. “The benefits, if any, of compulsory vaccination must be weighed against the enormous harm such a programme will cause to workers who are dismissed, simply because they have honestly held reservations,” Amcu stated. Trade union Solidarity has previously said it was opposed to mandatory vaccination and labour federation Cosatu has also said it would prefer to see workers volunteering to get vaccinated. “Forcing people provokes a negative reaction and creates a poisoned debate. We don’t want to go the route of the US where everything is contested,” said Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Hajra Omarjee at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page