The majority of farms that were subjected to the Department of Labour’s inspections blitz in Mpumalanga’s Nkomazi Municipality farms yesterday (Friday October 21) failed the test resulting in several workplaces being issued with notices. One farm is facing prosecution after it failed to comply with a notice that was issued more than two months ago.
The 18 teams which included the Minister of Labour Ms Mildred Oliphant, senior managers and labour inspectors descended on 23 farms of the 28 that were targeted for inspection.
“What we found was that very few farms around here comply with the various labour legislations. In fact, only 17 percent of the farms (four of the 23) visited were fully-compliant. The other 83 percent of the farms were found to be non-compliant which resulted in a number of notices being issues to these,” said Minister Oliphant.
All in all, 17 Undertakings were issued, 16 notices for contravention, three prohibitions served, one directive issued and three subpoenas served on errant workplaces. Prosecution will be instituted after one farm failed to implement recommendations to be compliant which is 60 days.
At one of the farms where the minister took part, Welgelegen farm just outside Komatipoort, the farmers gave labour Minister Mildred Oliphant an undertaking that all the defects that have been pointed out will be fixed as soon as possible. These included the unsafe operation of the generator, unsafe storage of dangerous chemicals and lack of protective clothing for the worker charged with managing this part of the operation amongst others.
The teams were denied access in two farms while in three of these, there was not a soul around.
“The purpose of the inspection is not punitive but to help farmers understand their requirements and what is expected of them. Where we issue notices, we expect compliance within a certain period of time whereby inspectors will be sent back to check if the changes have been effected.
“We also encourage employers to use the services of the Labour department so that we can help them do the right thing. It is not our intention to close down workplaces but where we find that life and limb are threatened or there are gross violations, the department would not hesitate to do the right thing to protect workers,” she said.
The inspections concentrated on checking compliance with Employment Equity, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases, Occupational Health and Safety, Unemployment Insurance and adherence to sectoral determination 13 in respect of agriculture.
Part of the exercise was to promote the visibility of inspectors with particular emphasis on the plight of farm workers who form part of the vulnerable working community especially in regard to migratory labour from neighbouring countries of Mozambique and Swaziland.
The department has committed itself to revisit the farms with follow-up inspections within 60 days and those with prohibition notices will have these lifted as soon as they prove compliant.
“At the end of the day, we would like to see more employers comply with the legislation and should they need it, we would be more than happy to help employers understand and comply with the law,” said the minister.
The inspections were also joined by key social partners including the Executive Mayor and her mayoral committee and ward councillors, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Labour, Alec Nchabeleng as well as the leadership of
Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA).
Enquiries:
Musa Zondi.
Cell: 082 901 8081
