Government workers have appealed for a re-think of the ultimatum on unvaccinated employees saying more effort should be dedicated towards educating citizens including civil servants on the importance of taking up COVID-19 vaccines.
The government gave a two week ultimatum to all unvaccinated civil servants threatening that those who receive their first jab after the 14th of July will not be given health insurance.
According to a circular signed by the Secretary of Public Service Commission Ambassador Wutaunashe on 21July 2021, all civil servants who are not vaccinated will not be covered by Covid-19 insurance.
In an interview with 263Chat, Secretary for Zimbabwe Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (ZCPSTU) Charles Chinosemwa said decisions on vaccination should not be a forced matter.
“A drop in an ocean of our members got the first and second jabs and this is because at first there was a lot of stories about Chinese jabs. Now we are trying to educate them on importance of getting the jab.
“The government should not rush workers. They must understand the importance of being vaccinated first. As unions we have launched awareness campaigns to educate our members on the importance of getting the vaccination. They (government) should not play with worker’s lives,” he added.
In an interview with 263Chat, spokesperson for Zimbabwe Professional Nurses Union, Douglas Chikobvu castigated government for making important decisions using emotions.
“We urge the government to rethink its decision concerning health insurance as most frontline workers were unvaccinated by that time but now they are responding positively. The insurance will also motivate them to keep fighting this pandemic despite exposing themselves and their families,” said Chikobvu.
He also urged government to continue encouraging citizens to take up COVID-19 vaccines while clearing air on numerous conspiracy theories flying around on social media.
