Businesses warned to uphold rights

HIKING the price of personal protective equipment (PPE) and failing to implement precautionary measures to protect workers from contracting Covid-19 violates human rights, the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said yesterday.

The commission said it would be working closely with statutory regulatory bodies, such as the Competition Commission, to ensure that the business sector upholds the respect for human rights in its operations during the pandemic.

“Price hikes in respect of PPE and other high-demand goods, as well as the failure to implement precautionary measures to protect workers from contracting Covid-19, implicate various human rights, including the fundamental right to human dignity, the right of access to health-care services and the right to the highest attainable standard of health enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,” the SAHRC said.

“The commission therefore calls on all businesses to recall that in addition to having to adhere to competition and other law, business and private actors bear human rights obligations and responsibilities during this pandemic.”

The Competition Commission has separately issued the Price Discrimination and Buyer Power Guidelines, aimed at bringing more fairness for emerging entrepreneurs and small businesses, after the draft version was released for public comment late last year.

Competition Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele said: “The buyer power provisions present an opportunity for SMEs or HDP (historically disadvantaged persons) firms to effectively participate in the economy without undue hindrances as a result of abuse of market power by dominant buyers.

“This is an important step towards the realisation of a growing, inclusive economy. These guidelines come when the commission is seeing such participation in the economy under threat from the Covid-19 crisis.”