HARARE -Zimbabwe’s cabinet has barred unvaccinated civil servants from reporting to work with immediate effect.
Only workers who have taken the coronavirus vaccine will be allowed to report for duty, Minister of Information Monica Mutsvangwa told reporters at a post-cabinet briefing in the capital, Harare on Tuesday.
The country is slowly opening economic and social activity after a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Only vaccinated people are allowed to attend church gatherings and sit-in at restaurants.
The southern African nation has received 11.8 million vaccine doses from purchases and donations since the start of the government’s vaccination programme.
At least 1.9 million people were fully vaccinated as of September 13 out of the 10 million the state is targeting to reach herd immunity, according to the health ministry.
It remains unclear how many of the state’s workers estimated at over 300,000 are vaccinated.
The biggest workers’ union last month took the state and several firms to court for insisting that employees must be inoculated against Covid-19 before reporting for work.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) said there is no law under the country’s statutes providing for compulsory vaccination.
Meanwhile, Harare High Court judge Justice Emilia Muchawa ruled that the ZCTU had failed to justify why the case should be heard on an urgent basis since most of the companies that forced workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine issued their directives in July, but the union only went to court now.
“The certificate of urgency on record is silent on the delay in acting from around July 22 when all, but one of the respondents issued their staff notices,” Muchawa ruled.
“It does not mention any dates relating to when the cause of action was complete and the need to act therefore arose.
“The applicant alleged in the certificate of urgency that the respondents were conducting themselves as alleged with a view to terminating the unvaccinated employees’ contracts unlawfully.
“This irreparable prejudice is merely speculative as nothing is alleged about what happened to employees after the deadlines came and passed before the lodging of the application. – Bloomberg/VicFallsLive