Labour & employment minister Thulas Nxesi has issued new regulations on Covid-19 that scrap the requirement that employees who have been diagnosed with the disease can only return to work after testing negative for the virus, a move that is hoped will alleviate pressure on the state laboratory.
The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) has been unable to keep up with demand for testing as SA’s Covid-19 epidemic deepens, due to a global shortage of test kits and reagents, leading to such extensive delays that the Western Cape is rationing tests.
The new directive on Covid-19 and health and safety in the workplace, which was published in the Government Gazette last week, says employees who have been diagnosed with Covid-19 can return to work after they have self-isolated for 14 days and undergone a medical evaluation confirming they are fit for duty.
Employers are required to monitor the person after they return to work, and the employee is required to wear a surgical mask for 21 days from the date of diagnosis.
A key change is that the regulations defer to department of health guidelines on Covid-19 for isolating, testing and assessing the risk of transmission to colleagues should a worker be diagnosed with the disease, said the department of labour’s chief inspector for occupational health and safety, Tibor Szana.
The regulations also scrap the requirement that employers wash and iron cloth masks provided to workers to reduce the transmission of Covid-19, shifting the onus for caring for the masks to employees.
National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) executive director Spo Kgalamono said the previous requirement for a negative Covid-19 test before resuming duty did not make sense, as people can test positive for the disease long after they stop being infectious.
A 14-day isolation period is sufficient, she said. Mass workforce testing is of limited value, as people who are healthy one day could be infected the next, she said. The NIOH is a division of the NHLS.
The regulations, which have emerged from discussion at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), also contain new provisions to protect employee’s rights to refuse to work in an environment that poses an "imminent and serious risk" of exposure to Covid-19.
Trade union federation Cosatu welcomed the regulations, saying it has been closely involved in drafting the new rules. "In particular we pushed hard for the right for workers to refuse dangerous or unsafe work and to be protected from dismissals and their wages from being deducted. This was critical as many workers have concerns with the levels of readiness of their employers," said Cosatu’s parliamentary co-ordinator, Matthew Parks.
"Too many essential workers have been infected [including] nurses and doctors, retail workers, police and correctional services officers, largely because employers have failed to ensure adequate health and safety plans have been put in place," he said.
Cosatu welcomes the appointment of 500 extra labour and health inspectors by the department of employment & labour, he said, but the number should be increased further to ensure worker safety.
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