Minister of Labour and Employment, Thulas Nxesi, says employers who intimidate workers who have to self-isolate after being in contact with COVID-19 positive colleagues could face criminal charges for endangering their safety.
He was responding to questions from the media during an Economic Cluster briefing on Friday.
This follows allegations that an employer in the retail sector refused to pay employees who had to self-isolate for 14 days, after a COVID-19 case was reported in the workplace.
This allegedly resulted in some employees returning to work, for fear of losing their jobs.
Nxesi says both unionised and non-unionised employees are protected.
“The employer needs to understand one thing – it’s not just about disputes or challenges. Sometimes we can lay criminal charges against those employers who are forcing the workers to do wrong things. Once the workers have been infected we can be able to do that. So it’s criminal what they will be doing to violate the law and expose the workers into such dangers. So, they need to understand that. So we can be able to act on behalf of those workers who are unorganised, while the unions will be able to work on behalf of their own employees,” says Nxesi.
EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS FOR LOCKDOWN ALERT 3.
– Appoint a COVID-19 Compliance Officer
– Workers have a right to refuse to work if they have reasonable belief that necessary precautions have not been put in place to prevent virus spread. @NxesiThulas #Level3Regulations— Department of Employment and Labour (@deptoflabour) May 29, 2020
In this video, Employment Specialist Imraan Mahomed discusses workplace issues during COVID-19
