Sasol confirms that it will cover the cost of COVID-19 antigen tests as alternative for its employees who will be participating in its annual maintenance shutdown activities on site at its plant in Secunda, Mpumalanga.

These are employees who prefer not to be vaccinated as part of the company’s preventative COVID-19 workplace safety protocols or who wish to be vaccinated but are unable to do so in time due to reasons beyond the employee’s reasonable control. Sasol’s assistance in this regard is limited to the cost of an antigen test administered by a Sasol approved testing laboratory.  

However, Sasol encourages employees to get vaccinated as we support the view that COVID-19 vaccines are a safe and effective measure of preventing the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Although vaccines do not always prevent people from contracting the virus, research show that vaccines do provide protection from the severity and longevity of the virus owing to lower viral loads, meaning that it can protect you from the risk of hospitalisation and/or fatality.  From 30 August till the end of September 2021, Sasol’s Secunda Operations plant will undergo a major facility shutdown for statutory maintenance to critical infrastructure and equipment. This will involve more than 20 000 people, many of them service provider employees who will converge in Secunda from different geographical areas to augment the need for critical skills.

Sasol is obliged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act to provide and maintain, as far as is reasonably practicable, a healthy and safe working environment for its employees and others present at its premises. This is also the intention of Sasol’s Covid-19 workplace prevention measures and protocols, which Sasol regards as of critical importance to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.  

Sasol therefore views the upcoming shutdown at its Secunda plant as a particularly high-risk event due to the possible spread of COVID-19 as South Africa is in the middle of the pandemic. It intends to manage it as a potential super-spreader event as part of our COVID-19 workplace mitigation plan.

For this reason and because the company cares, Sasol requires its employees and those of its service providers who will be on site during this 23-day shutdown period to submit either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test. Only an antigen test result will be accepted, not older than 7 days prior to commencement of the shutdown activities and not any other antibody test result. The antigen test is to be repeated during the shutdown period every 7 days.

While Sasol regards the vaccination of its employees and those of service providers as a legitimate extra measure to enhance existing preventative workplace COVID-19 controls for the prevention and/or mitigation of risk related to COVID-19 exposure during the shutdown period, we also recognise that it remains employees’ individual choice to get vaccinated – a choice which is to be exercised with due consideration to individual rights and without any fear of discrimination or retaliation. This is also underpinned by Sasol’s Human Rights Policy.

Sasol is and remains committed to the safety, health and wellbeing of all its employees, those of service providers and those who live in its fence line communities.