After the President's address last night, we issued a Breaking News bulletin which delivered the good news that the entire Construction industry will resume operations on 1 June 2020. This has been met with a collective sigh of relief by all our members as we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
The CC19RRTT published a Press Release which was distributed this morning, welcoming the easing of the lockdown for the Construction sector. Click on the link below to access it:
In the article, John Matthews, Chairperson of the CC19RRTT and President of MBSA, emphasised that there was a need for companies to adhere to the strict health and safety protocols that were already in place, for the protection of employees.
He highlighted the need for self-regulation by all employers in the industry, emphasizing the call by President Ramaphosa that combating the spread of the disease was in the hands of everyone.
He was further quoted as saying, 'It is not up to the government to try and monitor every office and construction site, but each and every employer has a responsibility to ensure that the health and safety of employees is guaranteed. The industry has health and safety protocols already in place and any employer in the sector who needs assistance should contact their Association for guidance and support.'
To this end, below are links again to a number of documents which we've published over the past few days which will assist you in formulating your policies and to ensure your workplace is ready:
The above have been issued by the Department of Health, together with the interimConstruction Sector Guidelines(we are awaiting the final guidelines to be published).
Below is also a useful document which was published by the Western Cape Government.
We remain available to assist you with any support you may need from a Health & Safety, Legal & Compliance, Training or any other industry related matter. Please contact our MBA office at 021 685 2625 should you need assistance.
For all of you who provided us with your UIF/TERS information, we will keep you posted on any success that we have. The feedback received today is that our file has been submitted to UIF/TERS and that a UIF representative has been assigned to focus on the 42 companies who currently form part of our submission.
We would like to urge you to keep in touch with us should your status change at any time (i.e. you get paid or partially paid), so that we can keep accurate information.
Should you not have submitted your details, but still wish to do so, please complete the information below and return it to me by Wednesday, 27th May at the latest.
Company Name
UIF Registered Name (if different)
UIF Reference Number
PAYE Number
Total No. of Staff
No. of Staff still to be paid
Contact Name
Email Address
Contact Number
Whilst we cannot guarantee success, we are hoping that this initiative will expedite claims.
Two of South Africa's trade union federations have raised concerns over government's announcement that public servants must go back to work when the country gears down to Level 3 of the lockdown from next week, with the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) threatening mass strike action.
In statements released on Monday after President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation the night before, Cosatu, an ANC alliance partner, and Saftu have both called into question the government's preparations in the transport sector.
South Africa's move to level 3 lockdown won't be like 'flicking a switch'
President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that most of the economy will reopen from 1 June should be welcomed; however, it must be stressed that overall levels of activity will remain notably below what we saw before the pandemic, says the Bureau of Economic Research (BER).
The BER said that there are a number of hurdles that the economy will still have to deal with and that the move to level 3 'is not like a flick of a switch'.
