TOP STORY – CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN

President Ramaphosa eases lockdown to open up large swathes of the economy

BusinessLive reports that SA will further roll back restrictions to contain the Covid-19 pandemic from 1 June in a piecemeal exit from the lockdown that will allow the reopening of vast swathes of the economy.  President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced the easing of the lockdown from 1 June to level 3, allowing the majority of industries, including finance and manufacturing, to return to work.  The ban on the sale of alcohol will also be lifted, but not on the sale of tobacco products.  SA has been in a nationwide lockdown for eight weeks, but this has had a devastating effect on the economy.  Ramaphosa said all manufacturing, mining, construction, financial services, professional and business services, information technology, communications, government services and media services will fully open from 1 June.  Wholesale and retail will also be fully opened, including stores, spaza shops and informal traders.  Accommodation and domestic air travel — except for business travel, which would be phased — will remain prohibited, as well as conferences, events, entertainment, sporting activities and personal-care services, including hairdressing and beauty services.  Restaurants, bars and taverns will remain closed.  People will be able to leave their homes to go shopping and obtain services, but all gatherings will remain prohibited, except for funerals with no more than 50 people and meetings for work purposes

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Genevieve Quintal at BusinessLive

Fears on the part of teachers and parents leave Angie Motshekga’s plans to open schools in chaos

City Press reports that government’s plan to reopen schooling could be in jeopardy because of fears expressed by parents and teachers that schools across the country are not ready for the big step.  Teachers’ unions are threatening that their members will not turn up at schools on Monday, violating the return date for teachers as stipulated by the Department of Basic Education (DBE).  Chief among the unions’ concerns are the slow delivery, or non-delivery, of essentials such as personal protective equipment (PPE), water tanks and additional classrooms.  The need for deep cleansing of schools and refurbishing of vandalised classes, as well as the lack of screening of teachers and learners with pre-existing conditions, are added concerns.  Teachers have told DBE Minister Angie Motshekga that they would not resume their duties until all the essential supplies required to manage the Covid-19 coronavirus had been delivered.  Motshekga announced on Tuesday that all teachers must return to work on 25 May to prepare for the phased-in reopening of schools that would begin on 1 June.  Only grades 7 and 12 would initially restart lessons.  Allen Thompson of the National Teachers Union (Natu) asserted that “we are not going to work on Monday”.  He added:  “But if the employer is insisting, we will need to obtain an interdict.  Some schools still do not have water.  This disease requires hygiene standards to be improved.  It is too little, too late.”  Mugwena Maluleke of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) said provinces were not ready to reopen.  A major issue of concern for teachers’ unions is that no assessment has been undertaken regarding which teachers should not report for work because of underlying illnesses, which could make them susceptible to infection.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Msindisi Fengu, Poloko Tau, Sizwe Sama Yende and Des Erasmus at City Press. Read too, 'We're not ready': Back to school plan under fire, at TimesLIVE

KZN premier confirms that teachers in the province will only report to schools on Thursday

TimesLIVE reports that teachers in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the province with the highest numbers of pupils in the country, will only return to school on Thursday.  Premier Sihle Zikalala made the announcement on Sunday and indicated that the 90,057 teachers and support staff in the province, who were initially expected to report back to school on Monday, would now only return on Thursday.  Zikalala said the decision to delay the return date for teachers was to ensure that all the schools were thoroughly cleaned and that essentials, especially personal protective equipment (PPEs), were delivered to all schools in the province.  “We have taken this decision due to the fact that the demand for these essentials far outstrips the supply and as such some schools are not yet in possession of all the equipment.  This decision is in the interest of safety of our staff and learners.  We will rather be delayed in commencing with the academic programmes than risk the health and safety of our workers,” Zikalala indicated.  He added that PPEs included the provision of clean and hygiene material — with three masks per pupil, three masks per teacher and visors to enhance audibility of teachers.  The announcement came on the back of a call by the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) on Sunday to teachers not to report for duty on Monday, citing the non-readiness of schools in the province.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Orrin Singh at TimesLIVE. Read too, No PPE, means no reopening of schools in Gauteng, says Gauteng MEC Lesufi, at EWN. And also, More than 100,000 sign Mmusi Maimane's petition against reopening schools, at TimesLIVE

TransUnion survey shows more job losses reported in first week of May than in similar period in April

Fin24 reports that according to a survey carried out in the first week of May, more people reported losing their jobs after SA extended its lockdown in May.  The poll, conducted by credit bureau TransUnion, found that 14% people reported job losses compared to 10% when the company conducted the same survey in early April, just after SA went on lockdown.  The online survey covered 1,005 adults in the week that ended on 11 May.  TransUnion advised that, based on three surveys it has conducted since the lockdown – two in April and one in early May – roughly one in six people have reported loss of their jobs because of the coronavirus-induced lockdown.  In addition to those who lost their jobs, nearly 4 in 10 (37%) of the respondents said their work hours have been reduced because of the pandemic.  In the first week of April, 32% reported reduced work hours.  Transunion said Mpumalanga was the most affected province, with reported job losses in the province increasing to 26% in early May, from 12% in April.  About 27% of the surveyed persons said they owned a small business and have had to close up, while those who remained open said orders have dried up.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Londiwe Buthelezi at Fin24

Lockdown relief scheme payouts to employees tops R14-billion since 16 April

Mail & Guardian reports that despite the difficulties the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) has faced regarding applications for the Covid-19 relief scheme, it has disbursed more than R14-billion since 16 April.  The Temporary Employer/Employee Relief scheme (Ters), as administered by the UIF, was set up for employers who had to temporarily or partially close their businesses in adherence with the lockdown.  Last Monday, the DEL advised that more than 2.5-million workers had received relief payments during lockdown, either in lieu of, or a top up to their salaries.  The total amount disbursed had by then topped R14-billion.  This was in addition to the usual UIF payments — such as in respect of retrenchments or maternity leave — which stood at R1.8-billion.  But technical glitches have caused frustration.  Among the complaints were that some employees received payments but others in the same company did not, the incorrect amount was paid out and people were not able to contact the UIF.  The DEL’s Teboho Thejane said the problem of salaries being paid to some employees and not to others was caused when incorrect details were submitted.  He also pointed out that some problems arose because companies were paying workers by using their leave days or lending them money.  “We are saying if you are in distress, if you are scaling down … do not make your staff take annual leave.  We will pay for that.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tshegofatso Mathe at Mail & Guardian

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

Comply with Covid-19 measures or be shut down, says Gauteng premier Makhura, at BusinessLive

Alcohol ban has cost 118,000 jobs, says industry, at BusinessLive

HEALTH & SAFETY

Eastern Cape lifts suspension of five nurses who allegedly refused to attend to a Covid-19 patient without PPE

BusinessLive reports that the Eastern Cape health department has lifted the suspension of five nurses for allegedly refusing to attend to a Covid-19 patient without personal protective equipment (PPE) at Grey Hospital in King William’s Town.  The patient subsequently died.  Khaya Sodidi of the Democratic Nursing Organisation of SA (Denosa) indicated on Sunday that the department had said the nurses were suspended after “refusing” to attend to the patient.  “But we established that the issue was that there were no PPE at the dedicated Covid-19 ward when the patient was admitted.  It [PPE] was [withheld] from the nurses by management.  Unfortunately, by the time the PPE was made available to the nurses the patient had died,”Sodidi stated.  It was apparently decided at a meeting between Denosa and the department on Friday to lift the suspensions.  “The five nurses are going back to work on Monday.  The department realised that there were no grounds to suspend the nurses,” Sodidi said.  Departmental spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo rejected allegations of shortages of PPE, saying the provincial government had an obligation to not send “soldiers into the battlefield without providing them with ammunition”.  He added:  “We are equally not going to allow a situation where patients are abandoned, neglected or refused help.  We are the last line of defence as health workers.”

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessLive

Far East Rand Hospital in Ekurhuleni accused of risking workers' lives by forcing them back to work

SowetanLive reports that staff members at the Far East Rand Hospital in Springs, Ekurhuleni, fear for their safety after the hospital management allegedly forced them to return to work following some of their colleagues apparently testing positive for Covid-19.  They claimed management expected them to continue working despite the fact that the hospital was not disinfected after four laundry workers and a porter were sent home after they tested positive for the deadly coronavirus strain the week before last.  The staff members said they were instructed by the hospital manager to not talk about the positive cases of Covid-19 at the hospital.  "The hospital manager held separate unit meetings on Monday where staff members were told to not say anything about those who tested positive.  We were made to raise our hands as a confirmation that we will not say a word about the cases.  The manager also told us we should not share this information on social media platforms.  We are being forced to come to work despite the fact that the hospital was [not] fumigated since last week.  Only one unit was closed and but now it's business as usual," said a staffer.  Gauteng health spokesperson Kwara Kekana said to date 609 employees have been tested at the hospital, with two testing positive (one being a porter and another laundry worker), while 341 had tested negative.  Kekana said 266 test results were pending.  On Tuesday, the testing area and laundry were apparently disinfected, decontaminated and fogged.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Promise Marupeng at SowetanLive

JMPD staff alleged that exposed officers returned to work while still awaiting Covid-19 test results

TimesLIVE reports that Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) staff claimed on Friday that colleagues exposed to the coronavirus were not put into quarantine while awaiting test results – potentially endangering the public, police and soldiers at roadblocks.  An employee who identified herself as Nancy, said on Radio 702 that two colleagues went for tests and returned to work afterwards.  She noted:  “This is a great concern.  We work in an open plan office and two colleagues went to test and we were not told that they went for testing.  They went to test and came back to the office.  We are surprised and we wanted to find out what are the measures after being tested?  Are you not supposed to stay at home after being tested?”  Some employees alleged that colleagues who were sent for tests continued to work at roadblocks enforcing the lockdown regulations, even while awaiting their results.  The JMPD confirmed on Thursday that four officers had tested positive for Covid-19.  In response to the officers’ claims on Friday morning, JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar denied the allegations that officers tested for Covid-19 and returned to work.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Iavan Pijoos at TimesLIVE

Employee at SABC’s Sea Point office in Cape Town tests positive for Covid-19

News24 reports that an employee at the SA Broadcasting Corporation’s (SABC’s) Sea Point office in Cape Town has tested positive for Covid-19.  Staff members were instructed to self-isolate as health department protocols were implemented, the public broadcaster’s spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo advised on Thursday.  Pointing out that employees would work remotely during this time, Seapolelo went on to indicate:  "Management has put in place business continuity measures and employees will continue to discharge their responsibilities remotely while in isolation.  In addition, the office has been closed for deep cleaning to ensure that it is safe for occupation by employees when the time comes".  The latest development follows two other SABC employees testing positive in March in Johannesburg and in the Northern Cape.

Read the original of the short report in the above regard by Azarrah Karrim at News24

Two more nurses die of Covid-19 in the Western Cape, bringing total to five

TimesLIVE reports that two nurses died of Covid-19 complications in the Western Cape on Thursday, bringing the number of nurses in the province who have succumbed to the disease to five.  Registered nurse Nandipha Kambi of Gugulethu died at Vincent Pallotti hospital after three weeks on a ventilator.  She was a community screening manager for the NGO In The Public Interest (IPI), which does community screening for Covid-19 and chronic medication home deliveries.  Yumna Haffejee of IPI described the Gugulethu grandmother as a dedicated manager who served her community well.  Magdalena Julies, a paediatric nurse at Melomed Hospital in Bellville, died at Tygerberg Hospital on Thursday afternoon.  Julies' daughter Rushana Pieterse lamented:  “It was a very difficult time the events leading to her death.  The saddest part is you cannot visit, so there were no goodbyes.  It is a very cold experience.  The only comfort we have is the passion that she had serving people.”  The deaths of Kambi and Julies follow that of Anncha Kepkey from Parow, assistant manager at the trauma unit at Tygerberg Hospital, who died due to Covid-19 at Melomed Hospital in Bellville on Wednesday morning.  Assistant nurse Ntombizakithi Ngidi was buried on Sunday.  Petronella “Ouma Nellie” Benjamin was the first nurse to die of Covid-19 in the province, on 29 April.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sipokazi Fokazi at TimesLIVE

Gauteng health MEC welcomes Cuban medical experts to fight Covid-19

News24 reports that on Saturday, Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku welcomed 28 Cuban Medical Brigade doctors to the province, saying he hoped SA could learn from the experiences of the foreign experts.  More than 200 of the professionals arrived in SA last month, consisting of family physicians, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, healthcare technology engineers, biotechnology experts and other specialists.  "We have changed gear and that is where we are going to use the experience of the Cuban [Medical] Brigade because we are going into our communities doing a door-to-door and a ward-based approach in terms of the strategy," Masuku said, adding that the approach would focus on hot spots.  He went on to comment more generally:  "This is what we think will be the backbone of our National Health Insurance because what we are hoping to achieve and build beyond this is a primary healthcare system that will be able to create a sustainable healthcare system going forward.”  He opined that the partnership would be a way to build such a type of healthcare system.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Azarrah Karrim at News24

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

Groote Schuur Hospital on the brink as Covid-19 burden grows, at TimesLIVE

Prison inmates fear Covid-19 contagion, at Mail & Guardian

Correctional services department records 709 Covid-19 cases, at TimesLIVE

MINING LABOUR

AngloGold temporarily shuts Mponeng mine after more than 160 test Covid-19 positive

BusinessLive reports that AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) temporarily shut the world’s deepest gold mine after 164 employees tested positive for the coronavirus.  Mines that had been shut since 27 March were allowed to reopen with half their normal staff from the start of May.  AGA detected its first positive case at its Mponeng mine near Carletonville, Gauteng, through screening.  After checking who the infected employee had been in contact with and then carrying out 650 tests, at least 164 came back positive.  A small number of test results still have to be finalised.  “All positive cases will be isolated in line with national health protocols, with on-site facilities available for those who may need them,” AGA said on Sunday.  The mine had 2,400 employees back at work.  AGA decided to temporarily close the mine to continue its tracking and testing processes.  So far, excluding AGA, 85 mine employees have tested positive for the virus, of whom 13 have recovered.  One mineworker died during the lockdown period.  AGA is selling Mponeng and all its other SA mining assets to Harmony Gold.  

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Allan Seccombe at BusinessLive. Read too, AngloGold confirms 164 coronavirus cases at Mponeng mine, at Fin24

Mining companies say testing of each and every mine worker for Covid-19 is not feasible

BL Premium reports that the Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) said on Friday that testing each and every mine worker for Covid-19 was not feasible for SA’s mining industry.  The observation came after the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) expressed concern over the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the industry, especially in Limpopo.  The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), meanwhile, has called on the government to enforce universal testing of mineworkers.  The mining industry employs about 450,000 people and of those 3,035 have been tested.  The MCSA’s head of health, Thuthula Balfour, said:  “In SA, as in most of the rest of the world, there are limited testing resources … It would be unfair to everyone else if a big share of the total testing capacity was allocated to one industry.”  Balfour also said a number of mining companies were looking to boost testing capacity both within their companies and the regions in which they operate, but “further testing is not the panacea some consider it to be, simply because you get tested at [a particular] point in time.  You might be tested today and tomorrow you are exposed to the infection.  Clearly it is not possible to test each person every day”.  The industry sees its greatest interventions in the fight against Covid-19 to be through hygiene and social-distancing measures.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive (paywall access only)

Other labour / community posting(s) relating to mining

Minerals Council SA (previously called the Chamber of Mines) to host weekly Covid-19 update sessions, at Mining Weekly

Concern as Covid-19 cases escalate in Limpopo's mining towns, at News24

ESKOM UNBUNDLING

Eskom in a race against time to unbundle by ‘aggressive’ end-of-2021 deadline

BL Premium reports that Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has described as “aggressive” the end-of-2021 deadline for completing the unbundling of the vertically integrated power utility.  But he insisted on Thursday that he was fully committed to adhering to the timeline contained in government’s restructuring roadmap, which was published in October and which anticipated full legal separation of generation, transmission and distribution by the end of 2021.  Separate divisional boards have been set up and MDs have been appointed for each division.  Each division was already managing separate income statements and, in time, separate balance sheets would be created so that each division could take it share of the utility’s debt, which currently stood at above R450-billion.  The utility did not anticipate any additional bail-outs beyond those already announced by the National Treasury.  But it was considering the sale of noncore assets and businesses, any proceeds from which would be used to reduce debt.  De Ruyter said Eskom was considering ways to access ‘green finance’ through the repurposing of power stations earmarked for decommissioning in the coming years.  Eskom will be linking repurposing to the country’s plans for supporting a just transition for workers and communities vulnerable to a transition from coal to renewable energy.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Lisa Steyn at BusinessLive (paywall access only). Read too, Eskom committed to ‘aggressive’ end-2021 unbundling timeline, at Engineering News. And also, Eskom CEO sees sustainable future if R450bn debt pile can be slashed, at Engineering News

Other internet posting(s) in this news category

Lockdown extends decline of state-owned companies, at SowetanLive

REMUNERATION / SALARY ADMINISTRATION

Trade union Uasa blasts Denel for last-minute unilateral decision to not pay salaries in May, June and July

Engineering News reports that Uasa announced on 21 May that it was “rejecting” the letter sent out by Denel’s CEO Danie du Toit in which he announced that the company would not be paying its employees for the next three months (May, June and July).  The trade union described Du Toit’s decision as “unilateral” and indicated that it had written to Denel board chairperson Monhla Hlahla to express its “dismay” at, and refusal to accept, the CEO’s letter.  The union said that it expected that its members would receive their normal salaries until it had had “meaningful engagements” with the arms manufacturer.  “The problems at Denel are by no means a new development and it boggles the mind that the State-owned enterprise [SOE] waited to the last minute to make such an important announcement,” the union complained it its statement.  The union aslo pointed out that the Department of Public Enterprises had given the group a cash injection of R1.8-billion in April 2019, but there was no clarity on how that amount had been spent.

Read the full original of the report in the above regard at Engineering News. Read Uasa’s press statement on this matter at Uasa News