Employees at Numain Wholesaler in Kimberley fear for their health after another three colleagues tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday morning while they claim that the store has no plans to close for disinfection.
EMPLOYEES at Numain Wholesaler in Kimberley fear for their health after another three colleagues tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday morning while they claim that the store has no plans to close for disinfection.
The first two cases were reported last week while three more were confirmed on Monday morning.
The wholesaler is accused of not adhering to Covid-19 protocol as no efforts were made for social distancing for employees and customers.
The store is further accused of not following protocol by closing for disinfection upon learning of the first two cases.
It is reported that the five are among six employees who share an office at the wholesaler. They are now in self isolation.
One of the workers is apparently still waiting for her test results after coming into close contact with those who tested positive.
According to employees, the staff members who tested positive have been reporting for duty until Friday, regardless of the fact that they were waiting for their results.
It has been reported that the Northern Cape Department of Health plans to intervene in the matter out of concern for the sudden number of positive cases at the wholesaler. The department has, however, not confirmed this.
The SA Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) promised to intervene in getting the business to adhere to Covid-19 protocols.
One of the workers said that they do not know of any plans by the employer to assist them and do not know where to go for intervention.
“The last time the premises were disinfected was in May after the first case. That is only when they started using masks and sanitising.”
The workers are now concerned that their families are being put at risk. “We stay with family members who already have underlying health conditions, so this is a big concern for us.
“Why can’t the company just do what is expected of them, instead of chasing profit.”
Saccawu representative, Anthony Kgobi, indicated that they are in the process of recruiting members.
He said they have been continuously interrupted by the attitude of management who continued to threaten and fire workers who showed interest in joining Saccawu.
All attempts to get comment from Numain management were unsuccessful.
