Deputy Minister of the Department of Employment and Labour, Boitumelo Moloi, is calling on organisations to implement mandatory systems of Health and Safety compliance.
The reason, according to the Deputy Minister, is to "create decent workplaces post- Covid-19."
Moloi delivered the keynote address on Monday, 20 February 2023, during the opening of the three-day Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) conference held at Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town, telling delegates that the Covid-19 pandemic has forced employers and workers to adapt quickly to new ways of working.
The conference continued into the following day, focusing on the theme of "“Decent Work Post the Pandemic."
Workplace Safety
Moloi stated priority in the workplace should focus on the welfare of workers, and employers should not wait for accidents to happen before complying with health and safety regulations.
“We should not allow compliance to happen by accident. If you think compliance is exorbitant, try non-compliance,” said Moloi.
The Deputy Minister added that as well as monitoring and enforcing health and safety regulations, health and safety inspectors can also contribute to the development of new regulations and guidelines that will reflect the changing nature of work environments post-pandemic.
The unpredictability of Covid-19 also brought (surprisingly) a few benefits to the workplace that can be maintained even after the return to "normalcy".
“Interestingly, many of these changes have brought unexpected benefits, such as improved productivity or working conditions. However, it is important that we not only focus on returning to work, but also take the lessons learned from the pandemic to re-strategize and prepare for future emergencies," explained the Deputy Minister.
Employers have also been able to reduce some costs they would've normally had to deal with, by adopting work-from-home arrangements with employees, or by introducing other new methods of productivity.
Although these benefits are certainly welcomed, it has not all been positive.
Occupational Health and Safety
The Deputy Minister said one of the challenges brought on by the pandemic and working-from-home at policy level was the development of mechanisms to deal with an inadequate policy environment, stating that the Department is "ill-equipped" to enforce OHS in private households.
Moloi also reminded listeners that the pandemic has also had a negative impact on the world of work as a whole, and has "disproportionately affected certain groups of workers in non-standard forms of employment" such as those in low-paid, unstable or informal jobs.
“Overall, the post-Covid-19 labour market in South Africa remains challenging, with businesses and workers still facing a certain level of uncertainty and disruption. In the post-pandemic period, health and safety inspectors will likely play an important role in enforcing health and safety regulations and guidelines to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the workplace," said Moloi.
During COVID-19, the Department of Employment and Labour developed a Covid-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) to provide financial relief to workers who had been affected by the pandemic.
