Return to work for public servants

Increasing numbers of public services are expected to be offered at each lower stage of Covid-19’s state of alert, and Mchunu said government departments, the country’s largest employer, must identify how much staff must return when trying to comply. with health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.

“The current position we are in will test the state’s capacity to the fullest. We are working hard to conduct a comprehensive interrogation of the state’s current capabilities in a number of areas to assess, adjust and adapt our operations for the future in order to provide optimal services during this pandemic, ”said Mchunu.

Before departments open workplaces, they will be required to disinfect offices, provide temperature controls, ensure that all employees wear masks, provide hand sanitizer, and limit visits by non-employees.

“Now it is more than ever necessary to recognize this superior call to be a public servant, based on patriotism and the need to go beyond South Africans who require such public services,” said Mchunu.

“This is not the time for opportunistic corrupt activities or looting and looting of state resources. Public servants must assume the gigantic task before them to be the public service that the Constitution dictates that we should be. “

The minister said the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) remains “a concern in some areas” and departments should contact the health department to organize the necessary equipment.

Unions have warned that many employees are forced to return to work before employers have implemented health precautions or provided PPE. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said Wednesday that 511 health workers tested positive for Covid-19.

“We take this opportunity to honor all the country’s public servants, especially those who do not work from home but who occupy the front line and support, we also take this opportunity to honor the heroes and heroines, who in the course of their duties passed in, “said Mchunu.

The Cosatu union federation has asked the Minister of Labor, Thulas Nxesi, to issue a ministerial leadership that allows all workers the right to refuse to go to work without punishment if an employer has not taken sufficient precautions to protect them from contracting coronavirus.

“We cannot allow exploitative and indifferent employers to abuse power relations at work by forcing workers to work in unsafe conditions. Workers must now be empowered to defend their lives with the full protection of the law, “Cosatu said Thursday.

Mchunu said government employees are encouraged to work from home when possible and that departments should provide them with the equipment to do their jobs, such as laptops.

He said that CEOs and department heads should ensure “that employees with underlying comorbidities or illnesses, to the extent possible, stay home or work remotely until the pandemic has passed, as they remain vulnerable to get the virus. “

While government employees will be required to return to work in staggered stages, the dispute over wage increases continues.

Most public employees expected a salary increase of around 5% to be implemented on April 1, 2020 but, due to a plan to dramatically reduce the public salary bill, the government breached a 2018 agreement and said it would not offer no salary increase in 2020.

“This particular issue is delicate as it is now in dispute,” Mchunu said, referring to the dispute declared at the Public Service Coordination Negotiating Council.

“Organized labor has declared a dispute and as such this matter is subjudicial, which means that it is at a stage where we are not free to give details about what is happening.” DM