FAWU CALLS FOR BETTER PROTECTION OF NURSES AND FOOD WORKERS

The Food and Allied Workers' Union fully supports the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union's(YNITU) call for better protection for the many nurses, doctors and other health care workers at the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic whom have not even been addressed in President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech last night. 

We are of the view that our nurses and other health care workers face increasingly stressful situations as they continue to perform their job amidst the onslaught of the corona virus pandemic. These nurses should not be overlooked as they are vulnerable and at the frontline of battling COVID-19 in medical facilities. Therefore, they must be protected, equipped and supported during these unprecedented times and economic hardships. We therefore agree that these nurses should at least enjoy an income tax break and danger allowance as means of motivation in this fight against a raging pandemic. In addition, FAWU demands the same for food sector workers across the value chain who are turning up for work every day and who face the risk of exposure to the coronavirus as they have to interact with multiple individuals in their factories or with customers in retailer stores all over South Africa. They should be protected as they are on the frontline working hard to ensure ordinary citizens have access to food every day.

It is a reality that our health care workers and food workers are from poorer communities and deserve some form of financial relief. Personal protective equipment should be mandatory for all workers on the frontline and we demand to see this in every grocery store and other food manufacturing plants. We have witnessed inreased incidents of supermarkets closing down as a result of staff testing positive for COVID-19. We thus reiterate our call to retailers to adhere to all precautionary measures during this coronavirus pandemic. We want to continue to encourage employers to pay a special bonus or appreciation bonus to frontline workers and we wish to thank those employers who have committed to such benefit. 

 For more information call FAWU General Secretary Mngomezulu Mayoyo on 082 440 4039 or FAWU National President Atwell Nazo on 079 892 4896.

FAWU Calls For Ban Of Unsafe Transport of Farm Workers After De Doorns Accident

The Food and Allied Workers’ Union condemns the horrific accident that occurred on the N1 near De Doorns on 7 April that led to the serious injuries and deaths of several farm workers who were on their way to work at Buffelskraal farm from the Touws River area. FAWU visited the families of the affected workers in Touws River to sympathise with their loved ones and we are glad that the employer will assist with funeral arrangements of those who lost their lives in the tragedy. FAWU has for many years called out to government to establish regulations for safer modes of transportation for farm workers as we have seen too many accidents like these over the past few decades. It is morally incomprehensible that the government to this day, do not put in place harsher rules to ensure safer transportation for these vulnerable workers. It is also disappointing that government did not enforce the same lock down guidelines in terms of transportation of farm workers which are applied to other forms of transport during the COVID19 pandemic. We call on the relevant ministries to address the issue. Our government needs to understand that they need to engage pro-actively when it comes to vulnerable workers . We cannot simply wait for disasters to happen and then still fail to take the necessary precautionary measures. Farm owners need to ensure that the transport is fit and properly maintained . They are responsible for appointing truck drivers and arrange the transportation - it therefore becomes their responsibility to see that their driver is fit, competent and knowledgeable about safety issues to drive and have an appropriate licence permit. Farm workers are exposed to a hazardous working environment, they often lack proper hygiene and sanitation on the farms where they work and in light of the seriously contagious COVID 19 disease , it is even more important than ever to increase precautionary measures against this pandemic. Workers often express to us their concerns and we as a union take it up with the employer but many of them resist and prefers to cut costs rather than to spend money on safety issues such as these. Many times the issue goes unreported since union officials rely on workers to report this. When we do become aware of unsafe transportation , we report it to the labour inspectors who needs to address this with the employer. FAWU has seen these types of accidents time and time again. The government has to get more serious with transport safety regulations pertaining to farm workers . FAWU and other activists have been crying out for the last decade for the government to attend to this critical issue and yet here we are again dealing with the same issue. Nevertheless, FAWU will persevere with its campaign for safer transport. We will continue to report those who still practice carrying workers over the limit capacity and at the back of open trucks. Workers are seasonal workers and most are poor families who are completely devastated by this tragic accident as most rely on seasonal work for a living. Workers in the food sector and farm workers are performing a vital service during this lock down as they are at the front lines of food production and aids in maintaining food security in South Africa. Most of them are worried as they have suddenly been deemed essential workers yet still continue to earn low wages and remain vulnerable as they cannot even afford or gain access to personal protective equipment during this time of the COVID-19 disease. Released by FAWU media liaison officer, Dominique Martin – 082 498 5631

Health and Jobs At Risk During Covid-19 Lock Down

The Food and Allied Workers’ Union(F.A.W.U.) has noted that the instruction by the President Ramaphosa for a 21-day lockdown has led to the initiative between business formations and the government to establish measures to curb the spread of corona virus. It appears however that this has, in turn, opened an avenue for employers to put workers at risk in terms of their health, with some even risking losing their jobs. FAWU also noted that several companies all of a sudden claimed to be manufacturing key food products that must operate during the lockdown. It is even more disconcerting that trade unions and workers were not consulted during this process seeing the uncertainty workers faced after the announcement of the lockdown. We are receiving many calls from members who, initially, flowing from the ministerial briefing, were made aware that there will be no operation of non-essential products or services. Given the fact that certain businesses were granted access to apply for exclusion from the 21 days lock-down, even those with non-key products/services applied and were granted permits. While businesses were making applications on the eve of the lockdown, most employees already went to their homes in various provinces. By the time these businesses were granted exemption to operate, some forced their workers to come back to work while those employees were already home and were unable to travel back to work. FAWU condemns the fact that these workers are now faced with disciplinary actions which means there is a real threat that they could lose their jobs. The certificate issued by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, leaves it for the employers to authorize employees and thus employees are intimidated to either lose their jobs or come back to work. The major crisis begins on the following, 1. All initiatives by employers in their application including government granting employers permission to operate during lock- down , were done without consulting trade unions or workers; 2. Employees are forced to work during lockdown period without any protective gear and effective hygienic measures to curb the spread of corona virus; 3. Employees are forced to find transport on their own and are subject to discipline if they do not arrive at work. This in fact means workers must go back to congested areas posing a risk to their health, of which the same government has been advising the public against; 4. Employees are forced to take their annual leave and those who conform to quarantine are forced to take sick leave; 5. Some employers treat cases of employees who are not at work and adhered to the call of President Ramaphosa, as unauthorized absenteeism and want to discipline their employees; 6. Workers are forced to apply for relief on their own thereby exposing them to a process where they will have to use their own time and risk infection; 7. Most of our members have spent all their money on food and home necessities in order to comply with the President’s instruction during the 21 days lock-down and barely have money for transport; 8. More than 200 workers from those large companies allowed to operate,will be obligated to disregard hygienic requirement such as social distancing to lessen the risk of being infected and infecting their families during their travel, to and from work. FAWU vehemently condemns actions of employers who prioritise profits at the expense of the lives of food sector workers. The announcement by the President was to protect the lives of all people in South Africa and workers in the food industry are no exception to this call. By disregarding the call by the President particularly on the measure to curb the spread of COVID19, some employers are contributing to oppose all what the country is doing to deal with this pandemic. FAWU CALLS UPON THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING, ▪ To stop all applications by companies without the involvement of the unions or workers; ▪ To involve all relevant departments before any decision to grant companies to operate such as Department of Health, Department of Transport, Department of Employment & Labour; ▪ The government must obligate employers who are yet to be granted to make commitment to follow all precautionary measures to protect their employees from the risk of being infected of which such measures must first be tested by the Department of health and the Department of Employment and Labour with the involvement of Unions/workers; ▪ The government must obligate employers to apply for relief funds on behalf of employees and not employees applying on their own; ▪ The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission must invite all employers who have been granted to operate to formally declare a reversal of all the above initiatives to dismiss or adversely affect terms and conditions of all workers in the food sectors as they are currently using the same certificate issued by the organ of the government. In the event they do not, the CIPC should withdraw the certificate to grant employers to operate; FAWU has a record of all companies that subjected members to unfair working conditions and we will seek intervention of the government on those employers who were granted permit to operate despite not being announced as essential or key operators. We therefore appeal to employers not to exploit workers during this time before FAWU embarks on a process of publicly name and shaming of all those companies engaged in unfair conduct. For more information, feel free to contact the writer on the below contact. Mayoyo Mngomezulu FAWU General Secretary- 082 440 4039, mngomezulu.mayoyo@fawu.org.za