17 September 2007
Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana will tomorrow, Tuesday, visit Sheltered
Employment Factories (SEF) in Cape Town that have been charged with providing
short to long-term jobs to people with disabilities.
The visit forms part of the Minister's hectic schedule this month that has
seen him addressing the Food and Allied Workers' Union (Fawu) national congress
in Johannesburg, handing over computers in Ntabankulu in the Eastern Cape on
Friday, and addressing the graduation ceremony of the Management College of
Southern Africa (Mancosa) in Durban on Saturday.
SEF were created 60 years ago for people who cannot hold a job in the open
labour market because of their handicaps.
Since inheriting the SEF from the previous government, the department has
committed itself to implement a turnaround strategy that will have a clear and
definable legal status, operate as efficient entities and serve to advance
government's national agenda on active participation in the economy by people
with disabilities.
Currently, the SEF has 12 factories across the length and breadth of South
Africa, and employ over 1 000 people.
Among products at the SEF are furniture, textiles, metal work, leather work
and book binding.
Studies have shown that there are more than 2,5 million handicapped people
in South Africa of who between 10 and 15 percent require sheltered
employment.
The Minister's visit will be as follows:
Date: 18 September 2007
Time: 10h00
Venue: N'Dabeni Factory Inyoni Street, Cape Town
And
Date: 18 September 2007
Time: 12h30
Venue: Epping Factory, Glenville Avenue (seven kilometres away from
N'dabeni)
Enquiries:
Zolisa Sigabi
Spokesperson
Tel: 012 392 9635
Cell: 082 906 3878
E-mail: zolisa.sigabi@labour.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Labour
17 September 2007
Source: Department of Labour (http://www.labour.gov.za)
