Finance and Economic Opportunities
a) What (i) are the details of the employers who have recorded COVID-19 cases, (ii) is the total number of employees per workplace who tested positive as at the latest date for which information is available, (iii) is the total number of employees who have contracted the virus at their workplaces, (iv) are the reasons for the high COVID-19 infection rate at workplaces and (b) what punitive measures have been taken against employers who failed to implement workplace safety protocols and thereby risked the spread of COVID-19 at their workplaces?
- (i) What are the details of the employers who have recorded COVID-19 cases?
The information you request is confidential.
- What is the total number of employees per workplace who tested positive as at the latest date for which information is available?
As of 20 May 2020, the data received from the Western Cape Department of Health indicates 647 positive cases in workplaces. The sectoral breakdown for the majority of these cases is 63% in retail; 16 % in pharmaceuticals and 13% in food and beverages.
- What is the total number of employees who have contracted the virus at their workplaces?
It is very difficult to determine whether an employee contracted the virus at their workplace or in their communities or on public transport as it depends on a clear exposure history and for most cases the transmission route is unknown.
- What are the reasons for the high COVID-19 infection rate at workplaces?
There is currently no specific research available in South Africa or globally to indicate the precise causes of increased COVID-19 infections at workplaces, but they could indeed be one of many be places of congregation, which can enable the spread of the virus.
What is known is that COVID-19 needs a mechanism through which to spread, i.e. individuals in society. Where individuals enter workplaces, be those individual employees or customers/clients, inadequate basic health and safety practices could contribute to the spread of COVID-19. This may include factors such as inadequate physical distancing, inadequate protective equipment, unhygienic practices or asymptomatic cases being in the workplace. COVID-19 may spread due to a multitude of factors and variables, some of which may be totally unrelated to activities at the workplace, for example the movement of people to and from work, or the activities of society outside of the working environment. It is for this reason that the Western Cape Government has put in place a whole of society approach to help to manage the spread of COVID-19.
- What punitive measures have been taken against employers who failed to implement workplace safety protocols and thereby risked
the spread of COVID-19 at their workplaces.
Only the Department of Employment and Labour has the mandate to serve a prohibition notice on a business should it fail to implement workplace safety protocols. The provincial Department of Health can only advise the Department of Employment and Labour, where it believes that a clear violation of the guidelines for workplace safety has been compromised. There have been instances where workplaces have been closed after the emergence of infections at the workplace and the Department of Employment and Labour then has to approve the opening up of those premises.
