AMCU demands national Covid-19 regulations for mining and energy
8 April 2020
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) demanded from the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to establish a task team to coordinate the response to Covid-19. The Union demands that this task team focuses on developing national standards for managing the coronavirus in the sector, including the introduction of enhanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to workers and minimum standards regulating the identification and mitigation ofthe associated risks. AMCU reminds the DMRE ofits regulatory role, especially when it comes to balancing the interests ofemployers and that o/ employees.
AMCU today wrote to the Minister of Mining and Energy, MrGwede Mantashe to table its demands on howto deal with the Covid-19 coronavirus in the mining and energy sector. Part of the substantial submissions by AMCU includes a demand for the establishment of a task team to address the current Covid-19 pandemic.
AMCU proposed that this task team should consist of the Chief Inspector of Mines, Mr David Msiza, as well as representatives of the Minerals Council and registered trade unions. The task team must also receive technical advice from the National Institute for Occupational Health (NI()H), the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) as well as the Minister of Health, MrZweli Mkhize.
The main focus of the task team would be to develop a national Code of Practice (COP) of managing Covid-19 in the sector, which can then be customised at company level. This national COP must then, as AMCU demands, be gazetted to become a regulation and a safety standard for the sector.