Staff panic, down tools over virus
SPAR in Khayelitsha Mall is expected to reopen today after panicked staff downed tools when two employees tested positive for Covid-19.
Khayelitsha residents took to social media to voice their concerns after the store workers downed tools and protested outside the premises, alleging management was refusing to get them screened and tested for Covid-19 despite colleagues testing positive.
The employees carried placards reading “Spar will not operate until we get tested” and “We need to be tested to protect our families”.
A cashier, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said: “We demonstrated after our employer refused to pay for all of us to be screened and tested. Physical distancing is impossible in our canteen because it’s not spacious enough. The second person who was confirmed to be sick would sit with us during lunch. We also wanted the store to close like other stores that have staff members who have the virus.”
The workers alleged they were threatened with dismissal for protesting.
The store said it was closed at the weekend and all staff who were in close contact with the two infected people were self-isolating for 14 days.
“We have taken the decision to test all our staff and will be reopening on Monday (today). All the necessary protocols and procedures have been followed and completed as requested by the Western Cape government and the Department of Health.”
The store said the first person got sick and was sent home on April 7, while the second case was reported on April 14 after the staff member had a high temperature and was sent home.
“The store was decontaminated twice, on April 16 and again on April 17. We will also be decontaminated twice a week going forward. We have implemented rigorous preventive health and safety protocols, including daily staff screening and temperature checks prior to entering the store.”
Meanwhile, Pick n Pay at the Liberty Promenade Mall in Mitchells Plain has reopened after the store was shut for contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act last week.
The store was temporarily closed by police and issued with a prohibition notice following a visit from the Department of Labour.
The department’s provincial chief inspector David Esau said some of the contraventions included failure to have the proper risk assessment in place, a high influx of people and the number of people in the store not being adequately managed.
The store also could not manage the sanitising of patrons on entry and physical distancing was not observed.
Department of Labour spokesperson Candice van Reenen said the notice had since been lifted by the inspector, following corrective measures put in place by the store.
Pick n Pay said the store opened on Friday.
“We have effective measures to keep our stores hygienic and our customers and staff safe. Our prevention measures in-store include transparent perspex screens at all till points. We also have clear distancing policies in all our stores,” the retailer said.