DownloadOn Saturday 21 March 2020 the General Industrial Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) took the initial steps to make sense of the dangers and impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 which is now a global pandemic. 30 shop stewards met to discuss the way in which the union would educate their members and the general public about COVID-19 – how it passes from an infected person to the next; its symptoms; what precautionary measures workers and their communities can take on their own and what to do when and if experiencing the symptoms.
Speaking to Karibu!, Secretary General John Appolis said that many of the workers the union organises were not yet aware of the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. In the meeting, the examples of countries such as Italy – a country which has now overtaken China in corona-related deaths – were used to illustrate the grave impact of the virus on the health systems and the human body. Following this, members started to understand and to ask questions which reflected how deeply they were considering the pandemic.
Appolis said that they noted that in some factories there were breathalysers and sanitisers and other hygiene equipment put in place for workers to use. GIWUSA is concerned with the way things are. This is especially after the interventions announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa about a 21 day lockdown affecting everything but the industries identified as essential services. Appolis said that the President did not address key issues critical to the survival of workers in general. Appolis shared the view that Ramaphosa’s interventions are in favour of formal and mostly big business, that the measures taken came very late and offered no relief to workers who will be paused from work while having to still pay expenses like rent and possibly medical expenses. He said that the President was mostly concerned with not upsetting bodies like rating agencies.
