The Department of Labour has vowed to increase the visibility of its inspection and enforcement services in the next financial year to ensure that employers comply with all labour laws.
This was revealed at a hospitality seminar in George, Western Cape, on Tuesday.
The event was attended by stakeholders from government, business, labour, non-governmental organisations as well as the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
Virgill Seafield, chief director responsible for advocacy and statutory services in the department, said the decision follows results of blitz inspections conducted nationally last year that showed that of the 1174 workplaces visited, a whopping total of 730 were not complying with the sectoral determination.
“It is disturbing to note that some employers failed to comply in terms of the minimum wage levels, information concerning pay, ordinary hours of work, annual leave, overtime, maternity benefits as well as the occupational health and safety regulations,’’ he said.
Seafield, who delivered the keynote address on behalf of labour’s Director-General, Nkosinathi Nhleko, said this picture suggests that things have not changed from previous years.
Boikie Mampuru, from the department’s occupational health and safety division, said in the 2012 inspections, some employers did not register employees for the unemployment insurance fund as well as the compensation for occupational injuries diseases Act.
Mampuru said the next financial year will see shopstewards being trained in the areas of all labour legislation. Equally important, he said, was to “strengthen social partnership with organised business and labour,’’ he said.
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