Chief Inspector of Mines David Msiza has been ordered to publish health and safety guidelines to manage and mitigate against Covid-19 under alert Level 4.
The Labour Court’s upcoming deadline of May 18 compels government to issue detailed guidelines on health and safety, and requires that all employers prepare and implement a Code of Practice to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 on mine employees returning to work.
Under alert Level 4, various mining operations are allowed to operate at partial capacity, with some allowed to scale up to full employment over time.
Pending the publication of the guidelines, all mining operations are required to comply with the directives pertaining to mining operations that were issued by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on March 26.
Additionally, the alert Level 4 regulations and health and safety guidelines issued on April 29 also need to be complied with, as well as the standard operating procedure (SOP) for Covid-19 for the mines.
The SOP sets out a substantive list of obligations on employers in relation to health and safety pertaining to Covid-19 and the workplace. These range from the preparation for the return of employees to the workplace to follow-ups in instances of positive cases and mandatory isolation.
Some of the key points from the SOP include that employers are required to develop a procedure to manage the return of work setting out as far as possible; communicate the return of work plan and procedure to the local DMRE and Department of Health district communicable disease staff; communicate all medical surveillance procedures to employees.
Additionally, employers are also required to ensure that all employees and health officials assisting with the return to work undergo a health screening; ensure pre-screening of employees using company transport and of all persons on arrival at the company’s premises; and also ensure physical distancing at areas of the mine that require close proximity and when using company transportation.
Once employees have arrived on site, employers are required to, besides others, enforce all infection prevention and control measures; ensure compliance with screening and testing at the designated areas; assess employees in designated isolation areas.
In a statement published by law firm Norton Rose Fulbright on May 6, it emphasised that the mining industry was a significant employer and that the primary responsibility of health and safety in the workplace, fell on an employer.
“Employers are advised to get ahead of the curve, with preparing a Code of Practice to mitigate the effect of Covid-19 and, in the interim, ensure the correct procedures are put in place to comply with the existing SOP, directives and regulations,” the firm advised.