Mandatory Vaccinations at the Workplace during Covid-19 Times in South Africa: Lessons Learnt for Future Pandemics
Paul T. Mtunuse 
& Paul S. Masumbe
Issue: Vol.5 No.5 Issue Article 11 pp.717-723
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245511 | Published online 21st May, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The purpose of the study was to analyse mandatory vaccinations at the workplace during COVID-19 times in South Africa. COVID-19 was first identified in March 2020 in South Africa. The National State of Disaster was ended by the President on 4 April 2022. However, while economic activities were gradually opening to revive the economy, some employers had issued mandatory vaccinations to all their employees at their workplaces. This was regarded in some quarters as a violation of the rights of workers. This paper however argues that there was a misunderstanding on whether any law authorised these mandatory vaccinations. The study found that forcing employees to vaccinate against their will, despite World Health Organisation (WHO) ethical considerations against mandatory vaccinations, was a violation of their constitutional right to security in and control over their bodies. Furthermore, it found that this violation was not justifiable under the limitation clause. The paper concluded that no law clearly authorised employers to apply mandatory vaccinations at the workplace. The authors hope that employers learnt some lessons from the implementation of COVID-19 mandatory vaccinations. The paper recommends that mandatory vaccinations should not be applied for future pandemics at the workplace without basis or authority of law. The study further recommends that government must develop clear laws and guidelines to regulate mandatory vaccinations for future pandemics in the workplace. The paper exposes the weaknesses of mandatory vaccinations which were applied by employers to employees at their workplaces during COVID-19 times in South Africa. The paper contributes to the growing constitutional and legal discontent of mandatory vaccines in South Africa and beyond to guide governmental intervention in future pandemics as individual rights interface with general health safety.
Keywords: COVID-19, Mandatory Vaccinations, Employees’ rights, Employers, National State of Disaster, Workplace, Lockdown.
Legislation
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa of 1996.
National Health Act 61 of 2003.
Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993.
Cases
Bessick v Baroque Medical (Pty) Ltd WECT13083-21.
Dowell v City Tulsa 348 US 912 (1955).
Jacobsen v Massachusetts 197 US 11 (1905).
Kok v Ndaka Security Services FSWK2448-21.
Minister of Safety and Security v Xaba 2004 (1) SACR) 149 (D).
Mulderij v Goldrush Group GAJB 24054-21.
Solidarity Obo Members v SEEISA (Pty) Ltd J 37/22.
Books and Articles
Currie, Iain, and Johan De Waal. The Bill of Rights Handbook. Juta and Company Ltd, 2013.
Dhai, Ames. “To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate: Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination in the Workplace.” South African Journal of Bioethics and Law. Health and Medical Publishing Group (HMPG), 2021.
Karim, Safura Abdool, and Petronell Kruger. “Which Rights? Whose Rights? Public Health and Human Rights through the Lens of South Africa’s COVID-19 Jurisprudence.” Constitutional Court Review 11, no. 1 (December 2021): 533–60. https://doi.org/10.2989/CCR.2021.0019.
Moodley, Keymanthri. Medical Ethics, Law and Human Rights: A South African Perspective. Van Schaik Publishers, 2017.
Mubangizi, Betty Claire, and John Cantius Mubangizi. “COVID-19, Rural Livelihoods and Human Rights: A South African Perspective.” Journal of Southwest Jiaotong University 56, no. 3 (2021).
Singhal, Tanu. “A Review of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19).” The Indian Journal of Pediatrics 87, no. 4 (2020): 281–86.
Paul T. Mtunuse (LLD) is a Senior Lecturer & Non-Examining Chairperson, Research & Higher Degrees, School of Law, Faculty of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences at Walter Sisulu University, and an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa. His research interests include International Human Rights Law, Constitutional Law, Child Law, Interpretation of Legal Instruments, Labour Law, Cyber Law, Artificial Intelligence and Medical Law.
Paul S. Masumbe (LLD) is a Senior Lecturer, Research Supervisor & Mentor , School of Law, and Acting Faculty Chair, Research & Higher Degrees Committee, Faculty of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences, Walter Sisulu University. He is an external examiner for masters and doctoral degrees in law at various universities and a reviewer of many journals. His research interests include International Criminal Law, Human Rights Law, Labour Law with emphasis on dismissal, and selected areas of Private Law.
Mtunuse, Paul T. & Paul S. Masumbe. “Mandatory Vaccinations at the Workplace during Covid-19 Times in South Africa: Lessons Learnt for Future Pandemics,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.5 (2024): 717-723. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245511
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Others
