Workers’ unions have opposed a move by the government to implement mandatory vaccination of government workers saying that will be a violation of workers’ rights.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) secretary Jonathan Wutawunashe in communiqué last week said workers who were not vaccinated should be barred from the workplace and should not be paid while they are barred. He added:
Any member that is not fully vaccinated without a reasonable excuse shall be subject to disciplinary proceedings.
However, civil servants’ unions yesterday said Zimbabwe had no laws that compel people to undergo compulsory vaccinations. Zimbabwe Nurses Association (Zina) president Enock Dongo told NewsDay:
Government has an obligation to respect the rights of its workers.
We actually encourage members to get vaccinated because of the many advantages which include reducing new infections, hospitalisations and deaths. But we are also saying some have genuine reasons why they don’t want to be vaccinated and they must not be forced.
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) president Takavafira Zhou said:
As much as we encourage our members to be vaccinated, we are against any mandatory vaccination. The government must invest in incentives for vaccination.
PTUZ secretary for health Nyaradzo Munjodzi echoed Zhou’s remarks adding that compelling people to be vaccinated is a violation of individual rights.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) last year allowed government to impose mandatory vaccination only after all measures to encourage voluntary inoculation had failed.
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