With the number of Covid-19 positive cases expected to surge beyond 500,000 before the end of the winter season, it is important that employers start to listen now to the advice of trade unions and share notes before arrogantly throwing workers into the lion’s den. 

This will help in combating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic at workplaces going forward. 

Tapping into what President Cyril Ramaphosa said when moving the country from lockdown Level 5 to Level 3, we must all collectively be prepared to live with Covid-19 for a year or even more. 

Observations that are made so far paint a gloomy picture. In the case of mineworkers, for example, the majority were bulldozed out of their comfort zones and forced into returning to work barely prepared and exposed to the virus. We are now witnessing undue consequences – the daily increases in the number of positive cases reported at various mining houses. Such a situation remains unpalatable.  

Pushing workers back to work was a blanket approach. An ideal approach would have been for the mines to strictly adhere to Covid-19 regulations that included screening, testing, PPE and transportation to health workers as well as quarantine places. 

The mining sector alone has so far recorded hundreds of positive Covid-19 cases with most companies still not complying with measures set out by the government. Mining companies are not complying with requirements to screen and test workers. 

In most instances, workers are forced to cramp together in mine cages or shafts, making it difficult for them to reduce the amount of physical contact. Also, the underground environment is not conducive to the prescribed regulations. 

The occupational health and safety of workers is a non-negotiable matter with regards to workers’ rights. 

There is a growing concern and fear that the mining industry is becoming a new epicentre and that Covid-19 cases could remain on a steep upward trajectory.

Before the first national lockdown announcement by Ramaphosa in March 2020, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) expressed serious concerns as it foresaw that the health and safety of workers would be significantly compromised. It remains difficult to maintain physical distancing underground. 

In most instances, workers are forced to cramp together in mine cages or shafts, making it difficult for them to reduce the amount of physical contact. Also, the underground environment is not conducive to the prescribed regulations. 

The NUM has always insisted on the right to participate in decision-making on what controls would be implemented. That means joint health and safety committees, and trade union safety representatives must be fully involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of all measures taken. Section 23 of the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) empowers workers to refuse to perform unhealthy or unsafe work if they have reason to believe that the controls are inadequate. 

We recently observed a similar blanket approach when the reopening of schools was announced. The Department of Basic Education had initially planned to reopen schools on 1 June 2020, but immediately postponed to 8 June to ensure schools’ readiness for reopening. The initial approach seemed very dangerous as proper consultations with other stakeholders, in particular trade unions, were necessary and didn’t take place. 

The department had to assure South Africans that safety measures had been put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19 at schools, but as of this week, several schools across the country have been temporarily closed after several teachers and pupils tested positive for Covid-19.

Covid-19 is way more dangerous than just the flu, it is killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world and many countries have declared war on the virus.

There are so many reasons trade unions are important at workplaces because part of their purpose is to prevent work-related diseases and accidents. No worker should be sacrificed for profits during this crisis. DM