The Star reports that staff were allegedly threatened with 'no work, no pay' despite Covid-19 infections.
According to an article in The Star, teachers at a Gauteng school are being made to choose between their jobs and their health. It is alleged that there have been increasing coronavirus cases in the school that have gone unreported while the school’s principal allegedly threatened staff paid by the school’s governing body (SGB) with “no work, no pay” if the school should be forced to close for decontamination and fees lost.
The principal of the school, which as 1,200 learners, is alleged to have concealed the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, ignoring hygiene procedures and opting to not inform the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) that four teachers and a Grade 12 learner tested positive for the killer disease over the past week.
“One teacher is in critical condition in hospital suffering from respiratory distress, while two others are quarantined at the school’s hostel that caters for more than 120 learners,” reads the article, which also states that the GDE has not issued a “no work, no pay’ directive.
There has since been a suspension of lessons at the school based on a risk assessment conducted by both the GDE and Health Department officials to “ascertain whether the school is in compliance with Department of Basic Education and Department of Health protocols for managing Covid-19 cases”.
