Child labour will be one of the key focuses next week when Labour Inspectors in the Free State undertake yet another drive to get employers to comply with the labour laws.
The week-long blitz campaign, which starts on Monday 14 June, will target employers in the agriculture and forestry industries building on the “sterling foundation already laid by our inspection programme to ensure compliance with all the labour laws which began in February,” said Labour Spokesperson, Page Boikanyo.
Since last month Inspectors have been running advocacy campaigns in the province raising awareness to employers, parents, school teachers and children about child labour and the regulations on hazardous work by children as contained in the Basic Conditions of Employment
Act.
Areas of focus for the scrutiny will include wages and other conditions of employment as prescribed by the sectoral determinations for both vulnerable industries. Boikanyo said vigilant teams of inspectors would visit farms to assess for themselves the level of compliance.
“Where there are problems, they will bring those to the attention of employers and give them time to correct. However, if on subsequent visits, the areas of non-compliance have still not been corrected, the inspectors will not hesitate but to enforce the prescripts as outlined in the labour legislation,” Boikanyo added.
He said the inspections have taken their queue from Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana’s often-made statement that “workers’ rights are human rights” and that there should be no compromise to this principle especially as it furthers the International Labour Organisation’s decent work agenda.
For enquiries please contact:
Wisane Mavasa
Tel: 051 505 6284
Cell: 082 806 1351
Enquiries:
Page Boikanyo
Departmental Spokesperson
Cell: 082 809 3195
Issued by: Department of Labour
10 June 2010
