In order to construct respectable workplaces after COVID-19, according to Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Boitumelo Moloi, organizations must implement necessary systems of health and safety compliance.
At the start of the three-day Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) conference on Monday at the Lagoon Beach Hotel in Cape Town, Moloi gave the keynote lecture.
The OHS Conference is still going on today with the topic of “Decent work following the epidemic.”
The COVID-19 epidemic, according to Moloi, has compelled both employers and employees to swiftly adopt new working practices.
“Interestingly, many of these modifications have resulted in advantages that were not anticipated, such increased productivity or better working conditions.
Therefore, it’s crucial that we not only concentrate on getting back to work but also use the lessons from the epidemic to rethink our plans and be ready for future calamities.
“We shouldn’t let compliance occur accidentally. Try non-compliance if you believe compliance is expensive, Moloi said. The wellbeing of employees, she said, should take precedence in the workplace. Systems for delivering work must also be created with an emphasis on outcomes rather than activities.
“While the epidemic led us through trying and terrible times, it also had some unexpected upsides, including advances in output or working conditions. In some respects, this has also helped employees’ social lives and ability to maintain a better work-life balance.
According to Moloi, in certain circumstances, firms have also been able to save expenses by using remote work arrangements or other innovative working methods.
The establishment of procedures to cope with an insufficient policy environment, according to the Deputy Minister, was one of the issues posed by the pandemic and work-from-home policies at the policy level.
She said that the agency lacks the necessary tools to implement OHS in private residences.
In the same statement, Moloi noted that the pandemic had a detrimental effect on the workplace, disproportionately affecting specific groups of employees in non-standard employment situations, such as those in low-paying, insecure, or informal positions.
According to her, the department had to step in during COVID-19 and create a COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Plan (TERS) to help employees who had been impacted by the epidemic financially.
In general, South Africa’s post-COVID-19 labor market is still difficult, and both employers and employees must deal with some uncertainty and upheaval.
Health and safety inspectors will probably be crucial in the post-pandemic era in implementing health and safety laws and directives to stop the spread of infectious illnesses in the workplace.
Health and safety inspectors “may also contribute to the drafting of new rules and standards that reflect the changing nature of work post-pandemic, in addition to monitoring and implementing health and safety laws,” Moloi added. – SAnews.gov.za
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