Cleared worker ‘chased away like a dog’

A FRUIT factory tray machine operator who tried to return to work this week after being in quarantine for Covid-19, said she was “chased away like a dog”.

An emotional Fredouene Schippers said she was cleared by Tulbagh Clinic to work again, but when she arrived at the Rhodes Food Group (RFG) factory on Tuesday, she was told to leave.

She has worked at the factory since 2006, she said.

“I got there and people asked me what I was doing. I told them I came to work, and I was then told to go to the manager’s office.

“The manager was rude to me; he said I should leave the factory and not come back. This makes me very sad, I don’t want to go back there now, people look at me like a dog,” she said.

Her mother, Hanna, said her daughter was tested on April 21 and received her results on April 27.

When she completed her isolation, she was cleared to go back to work, Hanna said.

“The human resource (HR) manager started shouting at her and asking her what she was doing there when she was a coronavirus case.

“She tried to explain to him that she had the letter from the clinic saying she can come back to work, but he screamed at her and chased her away,” she said.

RFG chief executive Bruce Henderson said the HR manager at the factory engaged with the employee, and explained that she was required to undergo a medical examination and had to be tested negative for Covid-19 before returning to work.

The screening form which she had obtained from the clinic was not sufficient, Henderson said.

He said in terms of the directive from the Minister of Employment and Labour, an employer may only allow a worker to return to the workplace “if the worker has undergone a medical evaluation confirming that the worker has been tested negative for Covid-19”.

“The company is investigating the conflict between this directive and the Department of Health regulation which requires employees to be free of Covid19 symptoms for 14 days before returning to work.

“In the meantime, RFG confirms that once the employee provides the company with the results of a negative Covid-19 test, she will be allowed to return to work and resume her duties,” he said.

Henderson confirmed the death of an employee who last reported for work on April 29.

“She had been part of a routine employee Covid-19 screening last week without any adverse findings. It appears at this stage that the death is not Covid19 related but the company understands that a post-mortem will be carried out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the community has called for a total shutdown of the factory, and yesterday they marched peacefully before being stopped by police.

Community activist for the Water Justice Coalition, Winston Pietersen, said: “This virus is very dangerous for our community.

“It’s no longer a workers’ issue. I am worried that the whole of Tulbagh is at a big risk, from the community’s standpoint.

“We will keep on the pressure that Rhodes must shut down.”