It is unacceptable that government departments and entities do not fully comply with the Department of Labour's Covid-19 rules and regulations for workplaces.
According to the Department's inspector-general, only 47% of the public sector is compliant with the regulations while the majority of private sector enterprises are adhering to the rules.
It is significant that the majority of private sector enterprises are indeed compliant with the regulations despite the additional costs they had to incur and the procedures that they had to put in place in order to comply. And it is totally unacceptable that the departments and entities of the government, which issued the regulations and is supposed to enforce them, do not fully comply with the regulations.
These figures prove once again that the government is quick to point the finger and reproach South Africans for their shortcomings while the government itself is unable to implement and adhere to its own regulations.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about an economic crisis in South Africa which could result in an estimated 2 million job losses. The private sector is the biggest provider of jobs in South Africa.
The FF Plus wants to reiterate that the Department of Labour must support and empower private sector employers instead of blaming them for all the shortcomings in the labour market.