In a second ruling dealing with an employee that refused to get vaccinated, the CCMA once again ruled that suspending the unvaccinated employee is fair and in line with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Commissioner Petrus Venter ruled that the Act compelled employers to provide safe workplaces, and the requirement to vaccinate was in the interests of the health and safety of all employees.
Gideon Kok, a security officer at Ndaka Security Services, which provides security for Sasol Ltd in Sasolburg, was suspended after he refused to be vaccinated on religious grounds. He was given the option of providing a weekly Covid test, but he only did this a few times. He then refused because he had to pay for the testing himself. He was suspended in November last year.
Kok claimed this was an unfair labour practice and that the requirement that he be vaccinated contravened his rights to freedom and security.
In his ruling, Commissioner Venter said Kok had been instructed to only return to work after he had been vaccinated, or when he submitted his weekly test result.
Commissioner Venter said Kok’s access card was blocked after extensive attempts to persuade him to get vaccinated. The decision was not taken on a whim and due process had been followed.
Sources: GroundUp, BusinessTech
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