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COVID19

Guidelines for The Establishment of An Enterprise-Level Covid-19 Task Force

Purpose

In support of the International Labour Organization (ILO)’s promotion of a safe and organized return to work during COVID-19, the ILO recommends that employers consider establishing an enterprise-level COVID-19 Task Force that would be responsible for developing and implementing a COVID-19 enterprise level plan. 

The purpose of the COVID-19 plan would be to inform the business how to resume operations impacted by COVID-19 in the absence of having access to a vaccine.  The plan would be specific to the circumstances and nature of business for each enterprise, and identify actions for immediate, medium, and long-term implementation.  It would focus on consultation and cooperation between employers and employees on matters of mutual concern. 

Below are general guidelines as laid out by the International Labor Organization (ILO).  For more specifics, please download the following document or go to https://www.ilo.org/newdelhi/whatwedo/publications/WCMS_742334/lang--en/index.htm:  Note: The guidelines are intended to provide guidance for a post-lockdown phase in which workplaces would gradually return to operations, in the absence of a vaccine having been developed. The guidelines provide a basis for a safe, peaceful and structured return to work. They also seek to reinforce the ILO’s commitment to the promotion of decent work, and respect to fundamental principles and rights at work.

Who to Include in the Task Force

When creating the task force, the ILO recommends having equal representation, with the same number of representatives from management as well as employees, and provided the below guidelines:

Management representatives should include:

  • Top management
  • Human Resource Manager
  • Production Manager
  • Anyone else in management

Employee representatives should be:

  • Identified by the collective bargaining agent/union, if there is one present.
  • In the absence of a union, the workers’ representatives should be nominated, through consensus, by the various units / sections / divisions / departments making up the enterprise. In the absence of trade union representatives, where the enterprise has a functional workplace cooperation committee or safety committee, then the workers’ representatives on such committees may also serve as the workers’ representatives on the enterprise-level COVID-19 Task Force.

 Task Force Meeting Management

Task Force meetings should be chaired by a representative of top management, preferably the Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director.  The decisions resulting from the meeting should be recorded in the form of Minutes.

Components of The Enterprise-Level Covid-19 Task Force Plan

When drafting the plan, it is important to consider the specific circumstances and type of business of the enterprise.  The Task Force Plan should identify actions for:

  • Immediate implementation
  • Medium implementation
  • Long-term implementation

The ILO recommends the plan be informed by the ILO’s “An employers’ guide on managing your workplace during COVID-19,” which can be downloaded below or accessed at https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_740212/lang--en/index.htm.  This Guide has been developed by the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ILO-ACT/EMP) as a general reference for employers and business membership organizations (EBMOs). 

The ILO recommends that the plan include the following:

  1. Phasing-in of the resumption of operations that will require consideration of the following:
    1. The sequence in which workers will return to work.
    2. The essential operations that will resume as a priority.
    3. The operations of lesser priority that may resume later.
  1. Ensuring a safe workplace that will require the following issues to be considered in addition to any others:
    1. Measures to ensure occupational safety and health.
    2. Ensuring physical / social distancing.
    3. Appropriate working arrangements.
    4. Identification of workers with underlying health conditions, who would require particular safety precautions to safeguard their health.
    5. Measures to rapidly assist workers who may become ill.
    6. Emergency plan to put in place if cases of COVID-19 are detected in the undertaking after resuming activities (including tracking down workers that have been in close contact with the infected worker(s); clear roadmap to eventually go back to essential operations and; if needed shutdown, etc.).
  1. Promoting productivity through constructive industrial relations that would require attention to the following issues, amongst others:
    1. Measures to reduce layoffs, including through actions such as reduced working hours.
    2. Mechanisms to address the rapid, transparent and fair resolution of grievances.
    3. Measures to afford protection to temporary, contract or casual workers.

Guidelines to Help Manage and Control the Risk of Covid-19 In the Workplace

The health and safety of employees and those they come into contact with must be an employer’s top priority.  The International Labour Organization (ILO) recommends that employers do the following to address COVID-19:

  1. Consider establishing an enterprise-level COVID-19 Task Force that would be responsible for developing and implementing a COVID-19 enterprise level plan.
  2. Closely monitor official guidance, advice, and updates provided by national and local authorities as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), including on work arrangements, and communicate critical information to the workforce.
  3. Assess the potential risks of business disruption.
  4. Review or draw up a business continuity plan that is consistent with guidelines offered by national and local authorities to enhance business resilience and support workers and their families.
  5. Identify and mitigate risks to workers and other persons connected to the workplace arising from exposure to COVID-19.
  6. Review internal policies and measures for infection control, including educating workers on best practices on safety and hygiene.
  7. Promote workplace hygiene and apply the principles of social distancing (also called physical distancing) in the workplace; assess business liability for workers’ compensation, particularly in sectors with high work-related exposure to COVID-19.
  8. Seek advice and support from employers and business membership organizations (EBMOs) who can channel concerns to the government and shape policy measures that are conducive for business resilience and sustainability.

The ILO recommends any of the following for identifying and controlling risks from COVID-19 to employees or other people connected to the workplace:

  • Ensure employees are aware of the isolation/quarantine periods and requirements in line with the directive/advice from the national and local authorities.
  • Provide clear advice to workers about actions they should take if they become unwell or think they may have the symptoms of COVID-19. Employees who present symptoms and are suspected of having contracted the COVID-19 virus should follow advice from the national or local health authority and seek urgent medical attention.  According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough while some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, or diarrhea.  These symptoms are usually mild and gradual.
  • Monitor the latest travel advice and restriction for anyone planning to travel for work.
  • Assess whether work activities put other people at risk.
  • Conduct contingency planning to manage staff absences and plans to manage increased workloads.
  • Provide employees with information and links to relevant services should they require support.
  • Contact relevant national and local health information hotlines or helpdesks on COVID-19 for latest information and guidelines.

For more detailed guidance, please read the ILO document entitled “Safe return to work: Guide for employers on COVID-19 prevention,” which can be downloaded below or accessed at https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_744033/lang--en/index.htm.  Note: This Guide has been developed by the ILO Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ILO-ACT/EMP) and contains recommendations for health and safety practices and approaches to COVID-19 prevention.  The publication aims to provide general guidance and information to employers on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, to enable workers to return to work safely while keeping the risk of contamination as low as possible. It also provides ideas on how to protect workers’ mental well-being during the pandemic.

If any employees are working from home, please refer to guidelines in the ILO document entitled “An employers’ guide on working from home in response to the outbreak of COVID-19” which can be downloaded below or accessed at https://www.ilo.org/actemp/publications/WCMS_745024/lang--en/index.htm  Note: This guide has been developed by the International Labour Organization Bureau for Employers’ Activities (ILO-ACT/EMP) to assist EBMOs to provide practical guidance to member companies that have implemented “working from home” protocols for their staff in 2020 as an alternative temporary arrangement during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

How COVID-19 Spreads

According to the MoPH and CDC, COVID-19 spreads mainly from one person to another, and can even be spread by people who are not showing symptoms through the following routes:

  • Direct Route: When people are in close contact with one another (within a meter), the virus can be released into the air through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.  It can then land in the mouths or noses of the people nearby or be inhaled into the lungs.
  • Indirect Route: Someone may get the virus by touching a surface or object that has been infected with it and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes. 

How to differentiate between COVID-19 and normal flu

According to the MoPH, below are signs and symptoms for how to differentiate between COVID-19 and normal flu.

Signs and Symptoms of COVID-19

Sign and symptoms of the common flu

Severe headache

Normal headache

High fever

Normal fever

No nasal congestion and runny nose

Nasal congestion and runny nose

Ordinary sneezing

Constant sneezing

No sore throat

Sore throat

Severe Shivering

Normal Shivering

Severe muscle pain

Normal muscle pain

Dry Cough

Cough with sputum

General guidelines for everyone (Employers, Employees, and Visitors to the Workplace)

  • Anyone with a cough, fever, or breathing/respiratory problems should stay home and avoid going to work or crowded places.
  • Employees who are well but who have a sick family member at home with COVID-19 should notify their supervisor immediately.
  • Upon arrival at the workplace, wash your hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds. Dry your hands on a clean towel that has not been used by anyone else. 
  • Wash your hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds at a time 30 times daily. While this is the preferred option, if you do not have soap and water available, then keep your hands clean by using hand sanitizer that has at least 60% of alcohol. 
  • Carry hand sanitizer so that you can sanitize your hands if a handwashing facility is not available.
  • Wear a mask and make sure that it covers both your mouth and nose. If you forgot a mask, then ask the workplace if they have an extra clean one you can have and wear it. 
  • Avoid shaking hands, rubbing the face with each other, hugging, and kissing hands, since you do not know if the person you are shaking hand with, or rubbing your face against his face may have been infected. It is possible to be infected, but not show or have any visible signs.
  • When coughing or sneezing, please cover your mouth and nose respectively with a tissue or cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow because the virus can be released into the air and transmitted to others.
  • Avoid touching your face, mouth, nose, or eyes because by doing so, you may spread an infection since your hands may have the virus on them.
  • Keep at least one meter away from a person. Maintain further distance if someone is suffering from a respiratory illness.
  • Avoid visiting any sick patients until the spread of COVID-19 has been stopped.
  • If your job requires you to touch people or surfaces that others have touched, then please wear a mask and gloves and change the mask and gloves at the end of each shift change. Do not touch your face with these gloves because they may have picked up germs from a surface.  Dispose of used masks and gloves in a trash can to burn  or dispose completely, and immediately wash your hands with soap and warm water for a minimum of 20 seconds.  

COVID-19 Guidance for Business and the Workplace

ACCI values its members and wants you and your workforce to be safe during COVID-19. We have gathered guidelines, information, and links to resources to share with you to help businesses to work safely during this time. With the flu season approaching while COVID-19 is still very much impacting the public’s health, businesses have to focus on safety measures and encourage their employees to take precautions both at the workplace and at home to help prevent and reduce transmission of illness. After all, healthy workers and a healthy workplace contribute to having a healthy business.

The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus.

Below are information and guidelines on how to best do this.

It’s important to protect yourself and others!

     Helpful Links

   Guidance for Businesses and Employers

International Labour Organization (ILO) Links

  1. Guidelines for the establishment of an enterprise-level COVID-19 Task Force
  2. An employer's guide on managing your workplace during COVID-19
  3. A quick reference guide to common COVID-19 policy responses
  4. Safe return to work: Guide for employers on COVID-19 prevention
  5. The six-step COVID-19 business continuity plan:
  6. An employers’ guide on working from home in response to the outbreak of COVID-19

Note: Please note that translations of the International Labour Organization (ILO) guidelines from English into other languages were not created by the ILO and should not be considered an official ILO translation. The ILO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation

All employers and business owners need to consider how best to decrease the spread of COVID-19 and lower the impact in the workplace. This should include activities to help prevent and reduce transmission among their employees in order to help maintain a healthy work environment. Businesses and employers should:

  • Obtain updated and accurate information, in particular from the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) - https://moph.gov.af/, in order to remain best informed on how to respond.
  • Develop, implement, and update as needed a plan that is specific to the workplace. It is important to identify all areas and job tasks that may have potential exposure to COVID-19, and then outline ways to minimize any potential for exposure. Plans should take into consideration that employees may be able to spread COVID-19 even if they appear to be asymptomatic (show no symptoms).
  • Communicate plans and changes to standard operating procedures with all employees and also request their input.

 

If Someone Is Suspected of Having or Having Been Exposed to COVID-19

1. According to the Ministry of Public Health, the following people are suspected of having COVID-19 if someone has:

a)    Returned to Afghanistan within the last 14 days or has symptoms of COVID-19.
b)    Been in contact with a patient that has tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 14 days, and is now coughing, sneezing, and has breathing complications.
c)    Visited a hospital treating COVID-19 patients, and now is coughing, sneezing, and has breathing complications.
d)    Had close contact with a relative, family member, or friend who has had one of the above symptoms in the past 14 days.

2. In each of the above scenarios, please call the 166 toll-free number or the number for the provincial Directorate of Public Health person in charge of COVID-19 and follow their instructions, and/or go to the clinic or hospital available in your area that is authorized to conduct a COVID-19 test and prescribe COVID-19 related medicines.

 

More Articles ...

  1. Suggested Guidelines for Employers
  2. Disrupted health services during COVID-19
  3. Coronavirus in Afghanistan: Do confirmed cases depict the real picture?
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