Solidarity demands penalty costs in litigation against UFS

27 June 2022

Solidarity will claim penalty costs from the University of the Free State (UFS) if this university does not amend its mandatory vaccination policy before the parties’ case is heard by the court. This comes after the UFS announced that notwithstanding the repeal of the national health regulations it would continue its policy of mandatory vaccination or testing for employees and students on its campuses. 

According to Solidarity, universities have particular responsibilities towards the public to give effect to constitutional rights such as those related to the right to education, and therefore such a restriction on these rights can in no way be justified.

“Universities, public universities in particular, cannot in any way justify such awful discriminatory practices. The unfair burden the university places on its students and employees, especially in the South African context where almost two thirds of young people are unemployed, is both unlawful and immoral. No council or committee can simply give itself the power to decide who may exercise their constitutional rights and who may not,” Solidarity Head of Communication Morné Malan said.

Solidarity says that although employers do have limited powers with regard to health and safety policies in their workplace, employers do not have the right to enforce large-scale violations of rights.

Such policies originated in a time of major practical and regulatory uncertainty, but that is now over and done with. When the rest of the country is finally pursuing normality and reasonableness, our universities should be at the forefront of the road to normality. Yet we now see the UFS is even lagging behind the government in this regard. In South Africa, compelling people is a thing of the past. Of course, the UFS can issue any recommendations in this regard, but to threaten the future of young people and staff members for the sake of draconian, irrational measures is totally inexcusable,” Malan concluded.

Issued by Morne Malan, Head of Communication, Solidarity, 27 June 2022