Manufacturing sector in Botshabelo and Bloemfontein identified for the blitz inspections
The Department of Labour in the Free State will be conducting blitz inspections this coming Thursday and Friday (20 - 21 June 2019). The decision to embark on these inspections emanates from the intelligence gathered during the workplace walk-about the Department conducted as part of its Workers Month activities. These inspections will be graced by the presence of the Inspector General of the Department of Labour, Aggy Moiloa, who will be leading the team of Labour Inspectors during these inspections.
Of critical importance to note is the fact that this team will be constituted by all competencies within the Inspectorate. To that effect, there will be Occupational Health and Safety Inspectors, Basic Conditions of Employment Inspectors as well as Inspectors checking compliance to the Unemployment Insurance Act and Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.
The Inspector General will be flanked by the Provincial Chief Inspector, Manelisi Luxande, as well as other members of management in the province. “Manufacturing sector, particularly in the Botshabelo area, has been a course for concern for quite some time. Thus we felt a fully-fletched blitz is necessary to unearth all the anomalies taking place there.
We visited this sector in the same area as part of our walkabouts for Workers Month and, as part of our engagements with workers, discovered that workers’ rights could be trampled upon. We are not casting aspersions already on these employers, thus we are embarking on these inspections to ascertain ourselves if the allegations made are true,” explained Mr. Luxande.
The Blitz will be a two-day event, the first inspection will take place in Botshabelo where 24 workplaces have been identified for the inspection. Inclusive of workplaces that will be inspected is the Supreme Poultry Chicken, SA Union Pulp Products, Transfix Transformers SA (Pty) Ltd and Candela Africa (Pty) Ltd, just to name a few.
Manufacturing sector in Bloemfontein will also not be spared from this scrutiny and will therefore see Inspectors descending to companies such as SA Truck Body, Coca-Cola, Transnet Railway Engineering, Sheet Plastic and Strado Truck & Trailer Remanufacturers.
“Normally after an inspection has been conducted, the same company may then be inspected again after 12 months, but due to the grave issues that have been raised, the department has taken a decision to take reactive measures to counter issues that have been raised in order to ascertain compliance to labour laws,” added Mr. Luxande.
Following these inspections, the Department of Labour will host a debriefing session wherein a comprehensive inspection report will be tabled.
This debriefing session will take place as follows;
Date: 21 (Friday) June 2019
Time: 15H00
Venue: Provincial Office of the Department of Labour: Bloemfontein 43 Charlotte Maxeke Street Laboria House 06th Floor Boardroom
Members of the media are invited to this debriefing session.
Enquiries:
Josial Ramokoena
Cell: 076 092 8157
