To combat the Covid-19 Omicron variant which rages across the world, the MTN Group has disclosed its intention to implement a mandatory vaccination policy for every one of its staff. The policy was to take effect from January 2022.

This was announced by the Group’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Ralph Nupita. He explained that the Group was out to protect the health and safety of people and workplaces.
He said vaccination would reduce the rates of serious infections, hospitalisation, and death.

He said: “As an employer, we have a responsibility to ensure that our workplaces are guided by the highest standards of health and safety, and that has informed our decision to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for our staff.

 “Our new COVID-19 policy recognises that some of our markets don’t have adequate access to vaccines. It also recognises some low-risk roles that will be accommodated with full-time work-from-home or alternate arrangements, but this will be a small population within our workforce.”

He further pointed out that both the World Health Organisation, WHO, and the Africa Centres for Disease Control, advocate vaccines, with the reason that they were an important measure to protect people.

He emphasised that global vaccinations since 2020 had helped in containing and managing the virus in many countries.

“Vaccine equity continues to be a major issue for African countries. As MTN, we add our voice to the calls for more vaccines to be made available to African countries, as herd immunity will only happen when the whole globe has reached a sufficient level of COVID-19 vaccination.

“The latest travel bans on African countries by developed nations are not based on science, are unjust and add to the lack of support for Africa that is much needed for an effective global response to the pandemic.  African countries are being punished for the very transparency that’s actually needed to successfully combat the impact on lives and livelihoods of the COVID-19 virus,’’ he said.

He noted that out of the global population vaccination rate of 55 per cent, only seven per cent of Africans had been vaccinated.
He said, “The fight against COVID-19 needs a global, comprehensive and equitable allocation of vaccines.”

He added that the MTN Group’s new vaccine policy is a measure to meet MTN’s legal obligations in regard to providing a safe workplace and shall be subject to risk assessment and local laws that apply to the MTN Group and our operating companies and subsidiaries.

“It also recognises the right of employees to apply to be exempted from the policy and/or refuse vaccination on certain clearly defined grounds. 

“For those staff who are not exempt from vaccinations either through risk assessment or agreed to exclusions but still refuse vaccination, MTN will not be obliged to continue the employment contract.”

The new mandatory vaccination policy follows the Group’s US$25 million donations to the African Union’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Prepare for likely spread of Omicron—– WHO to countries