The company's reaction followed after Numsa cautioned its members in the province not to return to work and accused the mining company of not putting in place necessary safety measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. 

Harmony’s spokesperson, Sihle Maake, however, says rigorous screening will be instituted before resuming work every morning, as well as after a shift. Maake says other preventative personal hygiene measures have been implemented and will constantly be monitored by the employer. 

"Harmony's Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedure is aimed at ensuring the safety of employees and meeting the conditions contained in the amended lockdown regulations published in the Government Gazette on the 16th of April.

"Harmony has a medical hub at each operation, staffed with medical professionals, with atleast one qualified doctor per hub, supported by qualified nurses," Maake adds. 

OFM News previously reported that the Northern Cape and Free State Regional secretary, Andile Zitho, said with the current skeleton staff, the management is failing to maintain proper health and safety standards. He added that subsequent to the failure by the employer, the union tried to open a case at the police station of contravening the Disaster Management Act, but the SAPS was very unhelpful. 

Zitho further said that one of the few measures suggested was that the Employer must roll out massive decanting, disinfection, and sanitising of hostels and the workplace, work apparatus and tools.

OFM News