By: Andrew Kathindi

The labour commissioner Henri Klassen’s office is sitting with eight cases related to mandatory vaccinations, the ministry of labour, industrial relations and employment creations has revealed.

According to the ministry, the labour commissioner has, thus far, received 10 cases. At the same time, of these, one was later withdrawn while another was resolved through conciliation, and the complainants have been reinstated. Eight cases are currently ongoing for arbitration proceedings.

The ministry of labour has received four labour-related complaints that emerged from employers introducing mandatory vaccination at their workplaces.

The development comes as many companies, including Letshego and the Namibia Petroleum Corporation, informed their employees that they must be inoculated, present weekly negative PCR tests, or work from home with limited support.

The four complaints were amicably resolved between employers and employees, according to the ministry.

“Government has pronounced that vaccination against COVID-19 is done voluntarily. The government’s position remains the same to date. Therefore, this ministry does not at this juncture advise employers to introduce mandatory vaccinations at the workplaces. But advises on the labour aspects of addressing COVID-19 at the workplace that are consistent with current government position,” said the labour ministry’s acting executive director, Lydia Indombo.

According to the ministry, some employers have used interpretations of sections 39 and 40 (1) of the labour Act 11 of 2007, which require an employer to provide a workplace that is health-risk free as authorization to introduce mandatory vaccination.

Section 40 (1) of the same Act states that “Every employer must conduct its business operations on its premises in a manner that, as far as is reasonably practicable, persons who are not employees of that employer are not exposed to the risk of their safety or health.”

Indombo, however, argued that the obligation from the Act must be implemented in a manner that balances the employer’s statutory duty with other obligations under the labour Act and with the rights and responsibilities of employees.

“The ministry advises employers to educate and encourage their employees on the importance of vaccines and allow employees to make voluntary decisions.”

She warned employers not to introduce mandatory vaccination policies unilaterally nor rely on sections 39 and 40 (1) in isolation and without reference to the full ambit and context of the Labour Act.

“Failure to do so will create high potential risk and labour disputes that might otherwise be avoided. Such disputes, especially when involving a large number of employees or sensitive operations, could be disastrous, time-consuming, and expensive, particularly if the latter is unfair.”

This week, the Villager reported that the Health Defence League, a voluntary association opposed to forced vaccinations, wrote to Namcor’s MD Immanuel Mulunga, informing him that going ahead with forced vaccines without due diligence was a blatant constitutional violation.