TimesLIVE reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa has indicated that, while the government respects workers' right to bodily integrity when it comes to Covid-19 vaccinations, a balance has to be found between those rights and others' right to work in a safe environment.

Addressing the first day of labour federation Cosatu's central committee four-day meeting on Monday, Ramaphosa said: “Workers can rest assured that we respect the right to bodily integrity and all other constitutional rights with regard to vaccinations. This is our stance about respecting the bodily rights of everyone in SA. However, this must be balanced against the right to a safe working environment, and it is correct to take measures to ensure the economy can reopen in a safe manner that protects all workers. We urge the federation to step up efforts to convince, educate and persuade workers and indeed all South Africans about vaccinations and that they should be vaccinated.” Ramaphosa said defeating the Covid-19 pandemic remained a priority and ensuring that sufficient numbers of people were vaccinated was the only way to prevent new, potentially more infectious variants from emerging. Earlier, Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi warned the same meeting that mandatory vaccinations would not work and might distract from the work of convincing every person of the need to vaccinate. “We cannot afford scandals of people selling vaccine certificates,” she said. Losi indicated that the labour federation supported the call for every person to vaccinate. This, she said, should be done through education, engagement and persuasion.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Andisiwe Makinana at TimesLIVE

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