Deliquent employers faces the full might of the law
The Department of Labour continues to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the rights of employees in the workplace are not trampled upon by their employers. To give further expression to this hard stance taken by the Department, a variety of employers who continue to subvert labour laws are taken to task and many of them, are convicted and harshly punished by the courts.
Mr Thapelo Daniel Scheepers, the owner of the construction company called Pulamadiboho Construction is one such employer who failed to adhere to labour laws. He is doing construction work on the R57 road between Reitz and Warden in the magisterial district of Reitz and has 70 employees. The charges brought against Mr Scheepers were as follows;
- Failure to appear before the labour inspector
- Failure to produce required document to the labour inspector, and
- Failure to comply with lawful order or request by the labour inspector
Each charge contained a sentence of a fine or imprisonment not longer than a year. The trial started on 21 October 2015 and judgment was reserved for the 18th November 2015. On the latter date the employer was found guilty as charged and was sentenced to a fine of R40 000, of which R20 000 of that was suspended, or 100 days imprisonment. He was further sentenced to 3 years imprisonment, which was also suspended.
In response to the court verdict Ms Bronkhorst – Chief Director: Provincial Operations for Free State said: “We hope this court judgement will serve as a deterrent to other employers who continue or contemplate disobeying and disregarding labour laws. It is incumbent on all of us to build a workplace conducive for high levels of productivity whilst ensuring that employees are also cared for. We are therefore thankful to our labour inspectors, the Bethlehem Labour Centre inspectors in particular, who committed to ensuring that employees are protected at all times.”
Enquiries: Josial Ramokoena
Provincial Spokesperson: Free State
Tel: 051 505 6284
Cell: 083 292 4018
E-mail: josial.ramokoena@labour.gov.za
