Labour Guide – Up-to-date Safety News

Compensation for Covid-19 vaccination side-effects

Dear Reader

On the 11^th of June 2021, the Department of Employment and Labour issued guidance on vaccination policies in the workplace. This was done in the form of the amendment to the Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces.

The directive requires an employer to include in its risk assessment whether it intends to make vaccinations compulsory. Employers then had to submit their mandatory vaccination plans to Department of Employment and Labour.

Where an employee is vaccinated in terms of the mandatory vaccination plan, the employee would be entitled to paid time off for adverse side effects of the vaccine. Alternatively, the employer could register a claim with the Compensation Fund, in terms of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.

On the 22nd of October the Compensation Fund published a notice on compensation for COVID-19 vaccination side-effects (G 45358 GeN 629).

According to the notice the Compensation Fund will cover employees for injuries, illness, or death as a result of receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

This would be applicable only where an employee is required by the employer to receive vaccination as an inherent requirement of employment or where vaccination is required based on the Occupational Health and Safety risk assessment conducted by the employer.

According to the notice, the following requirements shall apply:

1. The vaccination must be regarded as an inherent requirement of the job as determined by the employer’s risk assessment;

2. The employee must have been vaccinated with SAHPRA-approved Covid-19 vaccine;

3. Evidence must be provided of the employer’s Risk Assessment and Vaccination Plan as set out in paragraph 3(1)(a)(i)(ii) and (b) of the Consolidated Directions on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Certain Workplaces dated 11 June 2021;

4. The chronological sequence between the vaccine inoculation and the development of symptoms and clinical signs must be provided;

5. The employee must have presented with symptoms and clinical signs that are generally recognised as side effects of Covid -19 vaccine; and

6. Additional tests may be required to assess the presence of abnormalities of any organ affected.

The claims will be adjudicated and compensation will be determined and paid in terms of the COID Act and the Guidelines of Compensation Fund.

Nota Bene: This Notice must not be interpreted to establish any law, regulation or rule that employers may subject their employees to vaccine inoculation against their will.

I trust that the above-mentioned update would be useful.

Greetings

Tinus Boshoff

Health and safety news flash

Ergonomics Regulations, 2019/ Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations (85/1993)

Dear reader

Please note that the Minister of Employment and Labour has, under section 43 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993 (Act No. 85 of 1993), after consultation with the Advisory Council for Occupational Health and Safety, made the regulations in the Schedule.

These Regulations are called the Ergonomics Regulations, 2018 and will apply to any employer or self-employed person who carries out work at a workplace, which may expose any person to ergonomic risks in that workplace; and a designer, manufacturer, importer or supplier of machinery, plant or work systems for use at a workplace.

Please note that the new regulations came into effect from the date of publication (Gazette No. 42894/ R.1589 of 2019 dated 6 December 2019).

Link to Ergonomics Regulations, 2019

Tinus Boshoff

Health and Safety: New Draft Major Hazard Installation Regulations for Public Comment

Dear reader

Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations (85/1993)

The Minister of Employment and Labour, has given notice that, he has, in terms of section 43 (1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, (No. 85 of 1993) given approval to receive public comment on the schedule of these Regulations.

Affected and interested parties or persons are invited to submit comments on the draft regulations in writing (Annexure 1) within 90 days from the date of the publication of this notice.

R.1483 of 2019  

Link to Draft Major Hazard Installation Regulations (Annexure 1)

Tinus Boshoff

Compensation Fund breakfast turns its attention to PE

Media Release: The Department of Employment and Labour: 31 October 2019

The Compensation Fund (CF) Commissioner’s breakfast session with stakeholders will be held in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, at which the new claims management system will come under the spotlight.

This time Commissioner, Vuyo Mafata and his team will network with the South African Women in Construction.

The session Follows a similar event held two weeks ago in East London where the team met with the Eastern Cape Black Business Forum.

Challenges with previous and current claims system include:

• Lack of automated ver ification and validation of information;
• There is lack of automation of business processes;
• Challenges with the switching of batches,
• Manual generation of reports;
• Lack of Integration of systems (Claims and payment system);
• Data Migration from the legacy systems;
• Segregation of duties; and
• Lack of Document Management System.

The meeting is expected to be told that through the e-COID project, the Fund has realis ed improved validation of user information – faster turnaround time for registration of companies at the fund as well as efficiency of submission of Return of Earnings.

Date: 2 November 2019

Venue: The Beach Hotel, Port Elizabeth

Time: 08:00 – 10:00

Compensation Fund reaps rewards of modernisation of filing and claims processes

Media Release: Department of Employment and Labour: 15 October 2019

Faster turnaround time for registration of companies at the Fund, efficiency of submission of Return of Earnings as well as improved reconciliation of payments are some of the benefits the Compensation Fund’s (CF) CF- filing modernisation journey has produced.

This was said at the CF Commissioner’s breakfast network session with the Eastern Cape Black Business Forum in East London on Tuesday.

Thando Headbush, CF’s Chief Financial Officer, said among the challenges the fund faced over the years were registration of employers, which took up to 90 days as well as incorrect reference numbers being used then leading to misallocation of funds in the payments of assessments.

Other challenges with previous and current claims system include:

• Lack of automated verification and validation of information;

• There is lack of automation of business processes;

• Challenges with the switching of batches,

• Manual generation of reports;

• Lack of Integration of systems (Claims and payment system);

• Data Migration from the legacy systems;

• Segregation of duties; and

• Lack of Document Management System.

However, through the e-COID project the fund has realis ed improved validation of user information – faster turnaround time for registration of companies at the fund as well as efficiency of submission of Return of Earnings, Mafata said

Headbush said other significant benefits of the new claims system were:

• Faster turnaround due to efficient, streamlined processes;

• Correct workflows – the right process going to the right person at the right time;

• Open communication – status updates on the progress of your claims;

• Timeous payments to all stakeholders;

• A single source of the truth – data migration from legacy systems; and

• Correct data - data cleansing and enrichment.

Jan Madiega, Deputy Director for COID Registration, said less than 50 percent of employers submitted their Return of Earning. “We are here to support employers in terms of compliance” he said.

The Fund’s next session is to be held in Port Elizabeth with the South African Women in Construction as follows:

Date: 2 November 2019

Venue: The Beach Hotel, Port Elizabeth

Time: 08:00 – 10:00

For enquiries contact:

Franco Mabuya

franco.mabuya@labour.gov.za

Strengthening readiness procedures to deal with Major Hazards Installations disasters must be prioritised

Media Release: Department of Employment and Labour: 09 October 2019

Addressing scores of stakeholders in the Major Hazards Installations (MHI) industry today, Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) Phumudzo Maphaha said the status of readiness in big cities when it comes to MHI incidents is a major worry.

Maphaha was addressing an MHI workshop at the eThekwini Electrical Springfield in Durban to sensitize the Local Authorities on the new amendments to the MHI regulations and, to collect inputs to develop an MHI technical document.

Major hazard installation is an industrial facility that manufactures and/or stores relatively large quantities of chemical materials, which, if they were to lose containment, would result in effects that could cause harm to personnel and members of the public outside the facility.

Effects may include major fires, explosions and release of toxic materials that disperse over a distance.

Maphaha said Durban is one of the high risk cities dealing with a close proximity to major hazards installations site s as a result to fuel pipelines that run across the city.

“We are dealing with a challenge of infrastructure which is ver y old and anyone dealing with major hazards installations especially in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, must be fully alert at all times. We need to have personnel which are competent and professional to deal with major hazards installation incidents that can occur”, said Maphaha.

Maphaha told the workshop that the Department of Employment and Labour is set to publish amendments to the MHI Regulations and encouraged all experts in the industry to use that opportunity to give inputs and new ideas to the amendments.

“MHI is a highly hazardous field, and should be controlled in such a manner to prevent major incidents. Part of the amendments to the regulations will focus on the emergency preparedness plan and we will be working closely with municipalities to formulate strategies in order to be better prepared in case of major hazards installations catastrophes’, said Maphaha.

He said the recent floods which hit Durban should be used as a glimpse on the state of readiness that cities have when it comes to dealing with MHI disasters.

Kwa-Zulu Natal is one of the provinces facing non-compliance on MHI at a 55% level, and almost 60 MHI sites have not updated their quantitative risk assessment report.

Department of Employment and Labour is currently collecting inputs in the three provinces (Kwa-Zulu Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng) with highest numbers of MHI to improve its services. The inputs will assist in developing a Memorandum of Understanding to effectively control and regulate the MHI industry.

The workshops are aimed to institute relations with the local authorities and to collect inputs to develop an MHI technical document which will assist the department, the MHI industry and the local authorities.

The technical document is meant to assist the local authorities and the duty holder or the risk owners to comply with the MHI Regulations by:

• Identifying an entry point for MHI approvals at the local authority

• Defining the criteria for quantitative risk assessments and the minimal acceptable contents in the risk assessment reports; and

• Renewal and updating of MHI information.

The next workshop will be held on 21-22 November 2019 in Western Cape Province (Fransie van Zijl Drive, Parow, 7500 Tygerberg Hospital Premises) followed by Gauteng Province.

The session starts at 08h30 and media is invited.

For more information contact:

Ms Rachel Aphane

Email: Rachel.Aphane@labour.gov.za

Department of Employment and Labour achieves a 100,10 % inspection rate and now targets problematic sectors for attention

The Department of Employment and Labour has reported a 100,10 percent in the rate of workplace inspections for the financial year 2018/2019 and is now shifting its radar on problematic sectors.

Department of Employment and Labour Chief Director of Statutory and Services, Advocate Fikiswa Mncanca said the overall target of workplace inspections for the year under review was 218 732 and the actual inspections conducted were 218 919. Mncanca said of the employers inspected 177 209 were found to be compliant and 41 710 were non-compliant.

According to Mncanca 41 593 employers were served with notices, and 4 619 employers were referred to statutory services for prosecution.

Mncanca was speaking today (September 25) during the Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspections and Enforcement Services (IES) branch’s Employment Standards conference. 

The three-day event brings together all Department inspectors. The national inspectors’ conference is held under the theme: “Innovation starts with us”. It will end on Friday. The conference held at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban brings together 1 300 Departmental officials, majority of whom are inspectors under one roof to discuss latest innovations in the midst of the 4th industrial revolution sweeping the workplaces.

The conference’ presentations will focus on the IES’s planned innovations; techniques on improving compliance in the vulnerable sectors such as farming, domestic and private security sectors; employment equity enforcement; impact of amendments to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the National Minimum Wage Act; Unemployment Insurance amendments; the importance of Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) inspectors to improve Compensation Fund revenue.

Mncanca said the Inspection and Enforcement Services branch was faced with a number of challenges citing the limited number of cases referred for prosecutions,  poor quality of enforcement notices; incorrect citation of the employer details among others.

She said the Inspections and Enforcement Services branch would in the future be focused on problematic sector such as: private security; community, hospitality, agriculture/farms; domestic, construction; wholesale and retail.

Some of the areas of non-compliance Mncanca cited were around Unemployment Insurance declarations; consultative forums not properly constituted; failure to keep records; employment equity (EE) plans prepared not complying, EE reports not informed by equity plan and proper consultation.

Mncanca lamented the continued non-compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA). She said some of the transgressions were in areas such as underpayment of wages; non-issuing of payslips; illegal deductions; non-issuing of particular of employment; non-signing of attendance to prove working hours including overtime.

She said the IES was planning to embark on interventions to address problematic sectors and areas of concern. This, she said would be done through conducting advocacy with employers and their Employment Equity forums; inspectors to refer non-compliant employers for prosecutions in order to improve level of enforcement; invoking direct referral for prosecution for those employers who were found to be operating without an Employment Equity plan; awareness through local radio talk shows and advocacy.

Mncanca appealed to inspectors to fully adhere and comply with IES standard operating procedures.

-ENDS-

Issued by:

Makhosonke Buthelezi

Acting Departmental Spokesperson

Makhosonke.buthelezi@labour.gov.za

New Electronic COID Management System (eCOID)

by Tinus Boshoff; SA Labour Guide

Since Sept 2014, the Compensation Fund has used an electronic claims management system called the Umehluko system.

The fund is currently in a process of rolling out a new online claims system. The fund will be launching the new system on the 1^st of October 2019.

Please note that as from the 12^th of September 2019, the current Umehluko system will be unavailable to all users.

Please note that the Fund has developed a new USER REGISTRATION PROCESS. This was done to ensure that the Compensation Fund successfully transit to the new system. All users would need to be registered in order to access the new online platform.

a) What happens between the 12th to the 30th of September 2019?

i) Registration of claims and claim related enquiries

From the 12th of September to the to the 30th of September 2019, the Compensation Fund will be manually processing claims. For submission of claims and claim related enquiries during this period the fund requested employers to send an email to CompEasy@labour.gov.za

ii) Pre-registration before the new system goes live

In order to pre-register as a user for the new system, download the approval document detailing the required documentation.

Link to downloads:

• CF Memo to ALL external users

• eCOID User Registration Form v01

After completion of the required documentation, it must be emailed to ExtCompEasySupport@LABOUR.gov.za by the 25th of Sept 2019.

The abovementioned documentation could alternatively be submitt ed to your nearest Labour Centre.

b) What happens on and after the 1^st of October 2019?

i) The fund will be launching the new system on the 1^st of October 2019.

ii) All users who did not pre-register would be able to register on the new system. System access would require vetting of the supplied information before access would be granted to the user.

I trust that the above-mentioned information would be helpful.

For more information please contact tinus@labourguide.co.za

The Compensation Fund launches a new online claims management system

On the 12th October 2018, we launched the Compensation Fund’s modernisation project, eCOID. The eCOID project is aimed at developing an integrated online platform for the business of the Fund using the S4i – SAP for Insurance solution.

The first phase of the project was to develop a claims management system, which we promised would be launched in the second quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year. This system will replace the current claims management system, Umehluko.

The new system will be launched on 01 October 2019

The benefits of the new claims system are:

• Faster turnaround due to efficient, streamlined processes

• Correct workflows – the right process going to the right person at the right time

• Open communication – status updates on the progress of your claims

• Timeous payments to all stakeholders

• A single source of the truth – data migration from legacy systems

• Correct data - data cleansing and enrichment

The system go-live activities will include a systematic cut-over approach that will be executed, to ensure that we successfully transition to the new system. Impacted stakeholders include Employers, Employees, Beneficiaries, Switching Houses, and Medical Service Providers.

All Pensioners/Beneficiaries will not be affected by this process and will be paid their monthly pensions as per the normal payment dates. Pre-authorizations requests should still be sent to the dedicated pre-authorizations email address where feedback will be given by our processing team.

As of 12 September 2019, the uMehluko system will be unavailable to all user s. Our manual processes will be in place during this time until system go-live, whilst we prepare and transition to the new system.

For submission of claims and claim related inquiries during this period please send an email to CompEasy@labour.gov.za
We request for your patience and understanding during this time.

by lloyd — last modified 2019-08-15 16:07

MEDIA  ALERT

Imperial Logistics Construction Structural collapse inquiry closes curtain with submission of heads of argument - Department of Employment and Labour

The Imperial Logistics Construction Structural collapse inquiry appointed by the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate the causes of the collapsed building in Jacobs, Durban is expected to conclude its work when it sits next week.

The affected parties in the fatal Jacobs building structural collapse will be expected to submit and/or deliver their heads of argument in the two-day session. The session will be held from 31 July 2019 to 01 August 2019. The hearing is held at the KwaZulu-Natal Master Builders Association offices, 40 Essex Terrace, Westville.  

Some of the parties that were affected by the structural collapse who submitted testimony before the inquiry included: Imperial Logistics, Tilt Up SA, Talmac Engineering, ECHO Precast, Bedrock Construction, Archi Studio, JDF Construction, Moedi Engineering, Benrob Construction, and ECHO Prestress. 

More than 20 witnesses have appeared before the inquiry. The Section 32 inquiry started gathering testimony on 23 February 2019. 

The inquiry was appointed following an incident on 28 March 2018, in which Echo Prestress, a precast roofing company, was busy with the final installation of the concrete precast roof slab. At approximately 12H30, the precast concrete structure collapsed resulting in the deaths and injury of workers.

The Jacobs structural collapse led to the deaths of four workers: Bhekuyise Moses Sibiya, France Mokhuthu Sekalu, Constandino Mapukula and Siyabonga Bhane. Four other workers were injured.

This fatal collapse caused structural damage to an adjacent building and damages to a heavy duty vehicle which was stationed on the public road along the perimeter fence of the facility.

The Section 32 hearing has been initiated by the Department of Employment and Labour to investigate levels of compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), and negligence that caused occupational injuries and death of workers.

Mr. Sandile Kubeka a Department of Employment and Labour Specialist: Occupational Health & Safety is the Presiding Inspector of the Formal Inquiry. He is assisted by Mr Lennie Samuel, a Forensic Investigator from the Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch.

The Department of Employment and Labour is investigating the incident in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its regulations. If anyone is found to have contravened the Act or its regulations, a recommendation to prosecute will be made to the National Prosecuting Authority.

NB: The inquiry starts at 10:00am.

Media is invited to the inquiry.

For more information contact:

Nhlanhla Khumalo

Assistant Director: Communication (KwaZulu-Natal)

Email: nhlanhla.khumalo@labour.gov.za 

-ENDS-

Issued by:

Makhosonke Buthelezi 

Acting Department of Employment and Labour Spokesperson

Makhosonke.Buthelezi@labour.gov.za