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Fin24 reports that the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) and two union members, including Free State regional secretary Andile Wiseman Zitho, have been ordered to pay R100,000 compensation to an employee for disclosure of her HIV-positive status, without her permission, during a meeting.
The Free State High Court judgment ruled that disclosing an HIV-positive employee's status without permission was public defamation and a violation of privacy. According to the employee, only one other Numsa employee knew of her HIV status, namely her "sister and friend", Mamojabeng Molatlhoe. However, Molatlhoe testified that she told Zitho about her friend's HIV status in 2010 without her permission. According to the employee, Zitho disclosed her status during a grievance meeting against him in February 2021, which Zitho did not deny. He testified that he wanted to explain to everyone who lodged grievances against him that they were not being confidential about private matters and used the employee's HIV status as an example. The employee visibly cried during the meeting. In a recent judgment, Judge Sharon Chesiwe said the employee's HIV status was "private medical information" shared without her consent. The court ruled it was not Zitho's place to disclose her HIV status, especially not in a meeting that had nothing to do with her health. The court ruled that Numsa, Zitho, and Molatlhoe were jointly responsible for the R100,000 in damages. Numsa spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, indicated that the union planned to appeal the judgment.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Na’ilah Ebrahim at Fin24 (subscriber access only)
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