ZIMBABWE United Passenger Company (Zupco) workers who are not yet vaccinated have allegedly been barred from conducting their duties, CITE has learnt.
The transport company allegedly sent WhatsApp messages to members of the staff on Tuesday evening requesting them to bring their Covid-19 vaccination cards and national identity cards before they are allowed to resume their duties.
To date, 955 656 people have received their first dosage of the vaccine while 619 883 have received both doses.
Zupco conductors who spoke to CITE on condition of anonymity said when they reported for duty on Wednesday, they were notified that all those who have not been vaccinated would not be allowed to work.
“The messages that they sent us were informing us to bring both vaccination and national identity cards. They also stated that those who haven’t been vaccinated should report to the Kelvin depot,” said one employee.
“When we got to work in the morning there was a sign at the ticket office stating that ‘NO ID, NO VACCINE, NO JOB.’ They told us that only those with vaccination cards would be allowed to collect ticket books and report for duty.”
The source said after those with vaccination cards had left, their supervisors told them that they would be marked absent on the work register.
“The dispatcher and yard supervisor instructed us to write down our names, work numbers and ID numbers on sheets of paper which they said would be taken to HR. They said all those without vaccination cards would not be marked present. According to company policy, if one is marked absent for 5 consecutive days their contract gets terminated.”
Another source said the conduct of the management was very insensitive as they did not make an effort to seek reasons why the employees have not yet been vaccinated.
“Their decision was sudden and insensitive, they could have conducted this in a better way. It’s like we are being forced to get vaccinated. When this vaccine was first introduced the government said those who want can get it. It was never a forced matter,” said the source.
“Some of us have health conditions. I personally react to certain drugs hence my resistance to get vaccinated, but they do not care about all that. If anything happens to my health they will not assist me in any way, they wouldn’t care.”
Zupco acting chief executive officer, Everisto Madangwa dismissed claims that they were forcing the employee to get vaccinated.
Madangwa explained that the company has, since the rollout of the campaign in April, been encouraging its members of staff to get vaccinated since they interact with people on a daily basis.
“Noone is being forced to take the vaccine. We are only encouraging our employees to take it as soon as possible. We actually started this campaign around April when the vaccination program was introduced. Seeing the upsurge of figures of Covid-19 cases of late, we saw it fit to intensify our campaign,” said Madangwa.
“We ferry members of the public on a daily basis. We must ensure that our passengers are safe. The vaccine will also protect the members of staff themselves. We are faced with a situation where we have to make a choice to ensure that both our clients (passengers) and our staff are safe from the virus.”
