Durban - DELAYS in authorising physical distancing floor plans led to employees at the KwaZulu-
Natal Department of Health eThekwini district protesting outside their offices in Mayville on Wednesday.
Staff, who did not want to be named, said that they had spoken to management about problems they experienced with physical distancing in the office. More than half of the workers had returned to work last week.
Staff said they did not feel safe returning during the Covid-19 lockdown because there was more than the required number of workers on duty. Staff felt it created a health risk. They were also disappointed in the delay in issuing them with personal protective equipment.
Disgruntled workers left their desks and sang and danced in the parking area. They were later addressed by senior officials from the department and union representatives.
A source said the manager was supposed to submit floor plans on Friday, detailing where staff would be working. The source said senior management received the submissions on Tuesday and some were not signed by heads of sections.
Other submissions had inconsistent information and were colour coded, with no explanation of what the colours meant.
The source said senior management received no narrative to explain how work would be done in the office. There were also inconsistencies on dates for workers to return to work.
The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union spokesperson, Ayanda Zulu, confirmed that the department was not complying with physical distancing in the building.
“As the result of a 100% workforce at work, the 1.5-metre apart distancing was not implemented. Part of level 4 lockdown is that only one third of the workers must return to work to minimise close contact. Management have now agreed after the meeting with the union to comply with one third, as outlined in the regulations,” Zulu said.
Health spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa confirmed there was a temporary disruption to normal administrative operations at eThekwini District, due to concerns raised by staff. She said staff returned to work yesterday afternoon.
“Staff returned to their posts after the department explained to them that it had long started addressing the issues they were raising,” Maphisa said.