SAPU CALLS ON DCS TO PROVIDE PPE’s

Drickus Maartens • Jul 01, 2021

SAPU CALLS ON DCS TO PROVIDE PPE’s

The South African Policing Union has learnt that correctional officers in many correctional facilities around the country have been working without the necessary protective gear since the outbreak of the Coronavirus. We do not want to be considered as alarmist, however, the reckless behaviour of the Department of Correctional Services in exposing our members to infection cannot be left unchallenged.

We have received complaints from across the country from correctional officers who are concerned about their safety when reporting for duty. As much as it is public knowledge that there are infections in the Wesbank correctional facility in East London in the Eastern Cape, the reality on the ground is that other correctional facilities are battling to provide employees with PPEs. Amongst such facilities we can mention Johannesburg Prison commonly known as Sun City and many others across the country.

We acknowledge that the entire world was caught unprepared for Covid-19, however, most employers are complying with the lockdown regulations including providing protective gear to employees. The confined deployment of Correctional Officers in correctional facilities without the necessary protective gear can simply be categorised as sending them to a slaughter house because the threat of infection is well known. SAPU calls upon DCS to act swiftly in rectifying this. As the country is battling with Covid-19, we had hoped DCS as part of the South African state would have avoided any recipe for confrontation and unnecessary tension.

As a responsible union we would have failed our revolutionary responsibility if we do not warn DCS about this potential disaster. The officers who are working without protective gear are not only exposed to danger, they expose their families and the communities they live in. This behaviour of DCS is counterproductive as it renders the lockdown a fruitless exercise. We will consider other legal avenues to guarantee the safety and lives of our members. We cannot by any means compromise the safety and the lives of correctional officers.

Issued by: Tumelo Mogodiseng
                     General Secretary

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