Marthinus van Staden is Associate Professor at the Wits University School of Law, where he teaches Jurisprudence and Labour Law. He obtained his doctorate in Labour Law from the University of Pretoria in 2018.
Rolling blackouts in South Africa have had a significant impact on employers. The frequent power outages have disrupted employers, resulting in, among other things, lost productivity, increased costs, and decreased customer satisfaction. Rolling blackouts have also had a significant impact on the employment relationship.
The most apparent impact of rolling blackouts on employers is the disruption to operations. Employers rely on electricity to power their equipment and operations are halted when the power goes out. This can lead to lost productivity, as employees cannot work and customers cannot be served.
Employers may have to invest in backup generators or other alternative power sources and pay for additional fuel or energy sources to keep operations running during outages. Employers may also have to pay for additional staff to manage the outages. This can add up to a significant cost for employers.
Of course, not all employees require electricity to work. But for many employers, rolling blackouts may result in a total disruption to operations.
Some employers and employees are still under the impression that the “no-work, no-pay” principle applies to these situations and that employers do not have to remunerate workers if they cannot work during rolling blackouts....
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