Union leaders have angrily reacted to the Zimbabwean government's announcement on Sunday that people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be allowed at work. The move is seen as an attempt to deal with high vaccination hesitancy.
Ndabaningi Mangwana, the secretary for information, this weekend confirmed that all civil servants who have not been vaccinated will not be allowed to work with immediate effect. “And of those who are not vaccinated, and those who are not working, will not be paid because the thrust is that if you do not work, you don't get paid,” he said.
Voice of America reports that Takavafira Zhou, president of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, said that “fundamentally, there was no agreement over the issue of vaccination”.
“Our position as workers has always remained that we encourage our members to be vaccinated. But by no means should our encouragement be misconstrued for mandatory vaccination,” he added. Zimbabwe has fully vaccinated 2.4m people since its programme started in February.
Voice of America report – Zimbabwe Government – No Covid-19 Shot, No Work, No Pay (Open access)
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