Step up and do right things - Employment and Labour Deputy Minister, Moloi advices employers
Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Boitumelo Moloi has offered counsel to employers to comply with labour laws and avoid the stick approach from the inspectorate.
Moloi said the Department was open to a carrot approach.
The Deputy Minister was speaking on Monday during an inspection by the Department of Employment and Labour’s inspection team at the Dasbosch Boerdery located in Porterville in the Western Cape.
The farm specialises in the production of grapes and citrus fruits. It employs 400 employees. Most of them work during the peak season between May and October.
“We are not here to police. We seek to co-operate with employers and not fight,” she said. Moloi welcomed the farm management for co-operation and good manners. She said Dasbosch’s conduct during the inspection was exemplary in contrast to a hostile posture of non-cooperation by some employers.
A preliminary outcome of the inspections at Dasbosch has shown that while the farm was complying with other sets of labour legislation such as the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act and the Unemployment Insurance Fund it was found wanting when it comes to furnishing of documents, audited financial statements, and a lack of payroll data. The farm has been given 30 days to compliance lest they face sanctions.
Of the 83 foreign workers employed on the farm, the employer could only produce 30 documents of their status. The Deputy Minister said the matter would be referred to the Department of Home Affairs. She said a follow-up inspection would be conducted on the farm.
A Manager of the farm said he looked forward to receiving a consolidated final report.
Meanwhile, Employment and Labour Minister T.W Nxesi, Moloi and the Department’s Director-General, Thobile Lamati will on Tuesday (09 May) address a stakeholder engagement session on the recently-amended Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases (COID) Act and the recently assented Employment Equity (EE) Act. The session will be held at Lagoon Beach Hotel, Cape Town from 08:00-12:00.
Their morning address be followed later in the day by the tabling of the Department of Employment and Labour’s Budget Vote for 2023/24 in the National Assembly at 14:00.
Media enquiries:
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