What you said: Companies should not make Covid-19 vaccination mandatory

Companies need to consider their employees’ constitutional rights before implementing mandatory policies for Covid-19 vaccination, say readers. 

This is after Discovery said last Thursday it is intending to implement a policy that will make it mandatory for employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

Company CEO Adrian Gore said mandatory vaccination will not violate the rights of employees to refuse the jab but will help the company ensure a safe workplace. 

“This process will consider the employee’s health, religious and other legal rights and seek to balance these with the rights of all employees across the group. We will do our very best to accommodate each employee as we recognise each case is different,” said Gore. 

Trade union Cosatu told SowetanLIVE last week it was against the policy as it will be weaponised against employees who are against the vaccine. It said the company should communicate effectively with employees and not coerce them into getting vaccinated.

TimesLIVE ran a poll last week asking readers if they thought companies should make vaccination mandatory. Here are the results:

Most readers (53%) said companies must consider the constitutional rights to refuse to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

37% said they were in support of this as it will ensure safety. 8% said they were already vaccinated; and 2% said they were not affected by possible mandatory vaccinations in workplaces as they were unemployed.

Social media users shared similar views, with some calling for a boycott of Discovery.

“No! People should have a right to choose,” wrote Mbuso Elias Mlungwana.

“Before you become a CEO, you are a person. Learn to prioritise your family. Period,” said Desmond Shirinda.