Fin24 reports that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) found in an arbitration award made on 25 January 2022 that the suspension of a security firm employee who refused to be vaccinated was not an unfair labour practice.
The applicant in the arbitration was Gideon Kok, and the respondent his employer, Ndaka Security and Services, which provides services to Sasol in Sasolburg. Kok, who is not willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, approached the CCMA in a bid to have his suspension declared an unfair labour practice. According to Kok, he was unfairly suspended from duty and told to return to his workplace only once he had been vaccinated against Covid-19. Alternatively, he was required to submit a weekly Covid-19 test result. According to the arbitration award, the decision to send Kok home was preceded by a decision by Ndaka's client, Sasol, to require a 100% vaccination rate. Kok cannot enter the Sasol site as his access card has been blocked since 1 November 2021. He made use of the alternative to submit a negative Covid-19 test on some occasions, but was no longer willing to submit those as he had to pay personally for the testing. He argued that there was no legislation that compelled an employee to be vaccinated and that it would be contrary to the Constitution, the National Health Act and directives issued by the Minister of Labour. Furthermore, Kok said he was a devout Christian who had already recovered from Covid-19. On behalf of Ndaka, it was argued that three separate risk assessments of the workplace had been conducted. Kok was identified as an employee who should be vaccinated as he shared an open-plan office with about 10 persons and worked in close contact with others.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Carin Smith at Fin24
- Lees ook, Maatskappy mag werkers wat inenting weier, skors, by Maroela Media
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