Tag: constitutional rights

Discrimination based on one’s appearance is an ever-changing area of law that impacts employees and potential candidates worldwide. Subconscious appearance preferences that are founded on societal norms lead to employees and potential candidates being the subject of discrimination when they fail to meet certain, unilaterally imposed standards.

We oppose various recent government initiatives to prolong COVID-19 lockdown measures. All such measures must be scrapped and a return to the pre-March 2020 legal position must be expedited. South Africans have waited patiently for too long to see constitutional government and their civil liberties restored.

A recent Labour Court judgment has upheld an employer’s right to require employees to have a COVID-19 vaccination or provide a weekly negative test if they decline to be vaccinated, but it leaves several important questions unanswered.

On Friday 21 January 2022, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) delivered a much anticipated first pronouncement on the fairness of a dismissal following an employee’s refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination.

Many employers have placed their hopes of a return to the pre-COVID-19 workplace on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. South Africa is in the process of acquiring and rolling out vaccines, however, it seems that although people are encouraged to be immunised, no one will, at this stage, be legally required to take the vaccine.

Following the rise of a second COVID-19 wave in many countries, vaccines are in high demand. While desperate to resume pre-pandemic operations, businesses in South Africa find themselves in a tricky position. Should they enforce vaccinating workers to ensure a safe work environment, as well as operational continuity? If so, they risk a legal battle with employees who have a constitutional right to refuse the vaccination in order to have their religious customs and beliefs respected.

It is no secret that government leaders have access to increased power in light of COVID-19. Constitutional institutions such as parliament, which are supposed to provide oversight, have taken a backseat. The pandemic is unprecedented as it is not only a health issue, but also a socioeconomic and security threat. But at what cost does ‘securing the threat’ come?

South Africa’s access to healthcare and housing is 'increasingly deteriorating', according to the 2020 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG). The IIAG assesses governance in 54 African countries based on public goods and services that citizens have a right to expect from their governments, and the responsibility of a government to deliver.

In a strong rebuke of the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and her Director-General, Judge Norman Davis in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, 02 June 2020, declared the regulations issued by the Minister in terms of Section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act to be unconstitutional and invalid.

Have members of the ruling party committed treason through bringing about the energy crisis? Whilst treason is broadly defined as ‘the crime of betraying one’s country’, what constitutes treason differs from country to country.