Productivity SA Covid 19 Press Release

RE: Productivity SA puts measures in place for Covid-19 lockdown

Covid-19 has now spread to most parts of the world and is having a significant impact on the way society operates, works and lives.

The Chief Executive Officer of Productivity SA, Mr. Mothunye Mothiba says “Productivity SA recognises the significant socio-economic and labour market challenges facing South Africa as a result of the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic. We are also cognisant of the impact that the lockdown which commenced at midnight on the 26th March 2020 until the 16th April 2020 to prevent the spread of the pandemic will have on the livelihood of employers and workers.” 

The changing business environment as a consequence of the outbreak of the Covid -19 pandemic presents South Africa with a compelling sense of urgency and the need for a holistic approach towards unlocking the productivity potential of the country by addressing productivity and competitiveness challenges at all levels – national, sector and enterprise levels. To respond to the outbreak and heed the call by the President for a national lockdown requires significant workplace adaptation including employees working from home, flexi time/short time for employees who still must work from the business premises, and different travel arrangements to ensure continued provision of essential services during the lockdown period.

To this end, Productivity SA has put in place the requisite measures to ensure that provision of our enterprise competitiveness and sustainability enhancement programmes, particularly for SMMEs in the productive sectors of the economy are not adversely affected during the National Lockdown period.

Productivity SA commits to ensuring that the enterprises are supported through the implementation of productivity-enhancing best practices in relation to products, processes and people. This include well-tested business-process improvement tools and techniques like KAIZEN, 5S, SCORE etc. which systematically help businesses of different sizes to optimise their operations and become more competitive. This is the time for enterprises to adopt operational efficiency frameworks and management practices to promote full and productive employment and decent work for all. This also means fostering a favourable environment guided by the application of a human-centred approach, which permits enterprises to develop in a manner consistent with the fundamental values and principles that respect human dignity and environmental sustainability.