Failure to enforce Covid-19 rules at work is a criminal offence - Nxesi

Johannesburg - Failure to take the necessary measures to

prevent the transmission of Covid-19 may result in

criminal prosecution, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said on Sunday.

Nxesi was on Sunday briefing the country on back to work readiness ahead of the first working day on Level 4 lockdown since President Cyril Ramaphosa eased South Africa coronavirus lockdown regulations.

A back-to-work direction (regulation) has now been gazetted which seeks to ensure that the measures taken by employers under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS) were consistent with the overall national policies and strategies aimed at minimising the spread of coronavirus.

Among other things, the direction compels employers to conduct a risk assessment review of the workplace and production of a plan, implementation of hygiene and protective measures for all those present in their premises, including taking responsibility for providing protective gear to employees.

“The direction contains the basic measure that employers must take to prevent the transmission of coronavirus in the workplace. Businesses that are reopening must put these measures in place before restarting the work,” Nxesi said.

He said: "Labour Inspectors are

empowered to promote, monitor and enforce compliance

with the Direction. An employer who does not comply

with the Direction may be ordered to close their

business."

"In addition, as the failure to comply fully with the OHSA

(Occupational Health and Safety Act) is a criminal

offence, failure to take the necessary measures to

prevent the transmission of Covid-19 may result in

criminal prosecution."

Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi said. Picture: GCIS

Nxesi expressed concerns about the ability of his department to enforce compliance of all companies.

Nxesi said 170 of the 200 inspectors in his department had carried out 2 226 inspections during the lockdown, which saw some businesses which were allowed to provide essential service being closed down.

He said the number of inspectors had to be increased if the department was to ensure compliance, adding that the department had now resorted to hiring external inspection bodies to increase its reach.

“It will be impossible to inspect every one of the 1.8 million businesses, therefore inspectors will rely on the support of the individual workers and the unions in providing vital information which in turn allows the inspectors to focus on the hot spots and to make an example of a particular offender,” Nxesi said.

He said it would be in breach of the OHS for employees to not declare Covid-19 symptoms and for employers to not investigate cases and inform the department.

“Employers must screen workers for symptoms of Covid-19 at the time that they report for work, mainly fever, cough, sore throat, redness of eyes or shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, nausea, diarrhoea fatigue and tiredness…You can see we are talking about responsibility from both side of the employer and employee,” he said.

But, he said, workers also had a responsibility.

"Whilst we depend on the

goodwill of responsible employers, workers also have

a responsibility here: to wash or sanitise their hands,

to wear the PPEs provided, to keep their workstations

clean, and to follow directives in relation to health and

safety. This is in everyone’s interests – so that

everyone remains safe and we curb the spread of the

coronavirus."

Addressing the cost of PPEs that could put financial pressure on companies, Nxesi said: "It's obvious that all sectors, it has happened to government, you will to go the extra (mile) when dealing with Covid-19. it was planned by anybody. Indeed, it is going to be adding more costs to businesses like it has done to everybody ... Everybody has to go an extra mile. It's a question of a choice here: a choice of going extra, which is of course more expensive, or a choice of putting lives of the people at risk," Nxesi said.

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