O&G firm right to dismiss worker for refusing Covid-19 jab, says Industrial Court

 

The Industrial Court said it cannot accept that other parties need to compromise to allow the claimant to uphold his rights not to accept the Covid-19 vaccination. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: 

The Industrial Court has ruled that an oil and gas company was right to terminate the employment of a worker assigned to a Petronas offshore oil rig because of his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine three years ago.

Industrial Court chairman Salahudin Hidayat Shariff said Khazarasul Asrar Mat Yunus’s fixed-term employment contract with FPSO Ventures Sdn Bhd was clear that he was assigned as a senior technician to the Kikeh project in Sabah.

He added that the court did not have sufficient information on Khazarasul’s contention that he should have been moved to another oil rig location instead.

The court ruled that the company had the right to choose suitable employees in their locations.

“The court cannot accept that there are other parties who need to compromise to allow the claimant to uphold his rights not to accept the Covid-19 vaccination,” Salahudin said.

He said the court also viewed the company’s actions as an effort to avoid disrupting other operations and to focus solely on resolving issues on the platform in Sabah.

“On the balance of probabilities, the company has proven that the claimant was terminated for just cause and excuse as required in Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations Act 1967,” he said in his 18-page judgment released last week.

FPSO Ventures Sdn Bhd had offered Khazarasul a one-year contract from Sept 1, 2021 with a basic monthly salary of RM7,000.

He was to be seconded to the company’s client, Malaysian Deepwater Production Contractor Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of MISC Bhd, which is a Petronas-controlled entity, to work on the Kikeh project.

He was first required to undergo self-quarantine in a hotel from Sept 3-22, 2021, along with other offshore employees before starting their duties.

Under the employment contract, there was no clause mandating the claimant to undergo Covid-19 vaccination.

However, the contract included clauses requiring him to adhere to the employer’s health and safety rules and ensure his health condition complied with the company’s policies and those of Petronas.

During the self-quarantine period, arrangements were made for offshore employees and Khazarasul, who had yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19, to be inoculated.

The claimant declined to be vaccinated on the basis that it was his individual choice and did not provide any medical reason to be exempted from vaccination.

The company was also required to comply with Petronas’s offshore platform policies where workers and contractors who had not fully completed Covid-19 vaccination were not permitted to enter the platform.

The company then claimed it had no choice but to retract the offer made to Khazarasul through a letter dated Sept 29, 2021.

Khazarasul filed a claim of unfair dismissal under Section 20 of the Industrial Relations Act.

Adrian Yeow and Amin Anuar appeared for Khazarasul, while Raymond Low and Adam Thye represented FPSO Ventures Sdn Bhd. - FMT