TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      MTN receives $35-million offer for Afghanistan unit

      11 August 2022

      MTN South Africa weathers load shedding storm

      11 August 2022

      African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

      11 August 2022

      Willington Ngwepe to step down as Icasa CEO

      10 August 2022

      Samsung unveils its latest foldable smartphones

      10 August 2022
    • World

      Gaming industry’s fortunes fade as pandemic ends

      11 August 2022

      Disney tops Netflix in streaming subscribers

      11 August 2022

      Jumia says it’s past peak losses, shares jump

      10 August 2022

      Elon Musk sells $6.9-billion of Tesla to avoid Twitter fire sale

      10 August 2022

      Nvidia issues profit warning on slump in demand for graphics cards

      8 August 2022
    • In-depth

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022

      Webb telescope’s stunning images of the cosmos

      12 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022

      Demystifying the complexity of AI – fact vs fiction

      6 July 2022
    • Opinion

      SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

      19 July 2022

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»‘Mandatory vaccination policy coming in South Africa’

    ‘Mandatory vaccination policy coming in South Africa’

    News By Agency Staff3 December 2021
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

    South Africa, which is contending with a massive upsurge in coronavirus infections following the onset of the Omicron variant, is readying a mandatory vaccine policy and is set to implement it early next year, a senior labour union official said.

    Broad agreement has been reached on the policy in Nedlac, a negotiating forum, although some details have yet to be ironed out. Trade union federation Cosatu which initially opposed forcing people to get inoculated, has now joined business groups in backing the move.

    “Getting to a 90% vaccination rate is in the interest of our members,” Matthew Parks, the parliamentary coordinator for Cosatu, which forms part of Nedlac, said in an interview. “We can save their lives and their jobs. What we not going to do is support further lockdowns when we have lost two million jobs.”

    Getting to a 90% vaccination rate is in the interest of our members. We can save their lives and their jobs

    South Africa has detected almost three million coronavirus infections so far and nearly 90 000 of those who were diagnosed with the disease have died — although excess deaths data indicates the actual toll is about three times higher. New cases have soared since last week as Omicron took hold in the country.

    About 36% of the adult population has been vaccinated so far and despite an ample supply of shots being available, hesitancy to take them remains high. On 26 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa flagged that the government was considering introducing mandatory vaccines for some activities and locations, and said a task team is looking into the matter.

    “If a person chooses not to be vaccinated, they cannot also choose to engage in social activities that place others at risk,” Mondli Gungubele, a minister in the presidency, said in a column in Business Day on Wednesday. “We are at a crucial turning point in our response to the pandemic. We cannot afford further restrictions on economic activity or the uncertain pendulum swings that have characterised lockdowns in the past.”

    Compulsory

    Discovery and other firms have already made it compulsory for their workers to be vaccinated and seen uptake of the shots surge as a result.

    While Cosatu’s affiliates were split over whether to compel workers to get vaccinated, its leadership decided that the pros outweighed the cons. The Public Servants Association, which is South Africa’s biggest public sector union and isn’t part of Cosatu, as well as three other unions opposed mandatory shots.

    Parks warned that there was a risk of unrest should the government force people to get inoculated. France, the Netherlands and several other nations who have sought to introduce mandatory vaccines have been were rocked by violent protests.

    People can protest but we can’t tolerate burning of restaurants and schools and so on

    “We have raised it with government that when it comes into effect they will need to make sure the police are on alert, we don’t need anyone misbehaving,” he said. “People can protest but we can’t tolerate burning of restaurants and schools and so on.”

    Rioting engulfed South Africa’s Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces in July. It was triggered by the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma following his conviction on contempt of court charges. That violence claimed 354 lives and saw thousands of businesses looted and destroyed.  — S’thembile Cele, (c) 2021 Bloomberg LP

    Cosatu Enoch Godongwana Matthew Parks
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleUS sues to block Nvidia deal to buy ARM
    Next Article Nvidia’s plan to become king of chip design hits the rocks

    Related Posts

    MTN receives $35-million offer for Afghanistan unit

    11 August 2022

    MTN South Africa weathers load shedding storm

    11 August 2022

    African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

    11 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    How secure is your cloud?

    10 August 2022

    5 ways to make attack-path management more manageable

    10 August 2022

    Smart homes need even smarter Wi-Fi

    10 August 2022
    Opinion

    SIU seeks to set aside R215-million IT tender

    19 July 2022

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.