8 August 2006
Initial outcomes of the ongoing workplace blitz inspections in the Free
State show that some employers in the financial services sector have been
caught off guard, while a big majority of others received a thumbs-up.
On the first two days of their five-day blitzkrieg of banking institutions,
accounting firms and post offices which started on Monday, Labour Department
inspectors assessing compliance with Employment Equity (EE) laws issued various
warnings.
The crackdown is mainly targeting designated employers with 50 or more
workers, as well as those with an annual turnover of R2 million in the
financial sector.
On Monday alone, the inspectors searched 48 institutions in 11 towns, of
which 35 were found to be compiling with the provisions of the law, including
submissions of EE reports of last year, with copies readily available at
workplaces.
Their workplaces were also found to be having the required representative EE
consultative forums which keep minutes, while levels of awareness and
understanding of EE matters were also high.
This, however, was not the case with 13 employers where non-compliance
varied from failure to adequately display or produce reports upon request by
inspectors, as well as general lack of employee access to information.
The culprits were issued with 21-day written undertakings to comply or risk
being fined or worse still, being dragged to court.
The inspections precede the start of submission period of the EE reports by
the employers between 1 September and 2 October.
Enquiries:
Mokgadi Pela
Cell: 082 808 2168
Issued by: Department of Labour
8 August 2006
M<EOD>
