Minister warns intensified Labour Law enforcement top Government priority

Labour law enforcement throughout the country’s workplaces has become one of the government’s top priorities, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana has warned.

 Addressing an Imbizo of domestic workers in Stellenbosch, Western Cape on Sunday, Minister Mdladlana said a general feeling right across the labour market spectrum had always been that law enforcement was in dire need of tightening up to curb the rampant workplace injustices.

 “We have since responded by appointing, for the first time, a national chief inspector who will be responsible for coordinating and professionalizing labour law inspectorate to ensure drastic increase in inspection visibility. We have to demonstrate strong intolerance of each and every employer that refuses to obey the law as we cannot have people turning our country into a banana republic,” he said.

Minister Mdladlana stressed, however, that no amount of law enforcement would be enough without the workers themselves, particularly in the domestic sector, organizing themselves through trade unions.

“The best and most effective inspector on any given day is the worker him/herself. If workers themselves to not understand their workplace rights and obligations, complete law enforcement would always be impeded to some extent.”   

 The one-day Imbizo was preceded by a process whereby the hundreds of domestic employees of the area made use of government facilities at their disposal to register for various services, including Unemployment Insurance Fund and for inclusion in the national job-seekers database.

In a wide-ranging interaction with the Minister and his top management team, workers and some employers posed a variety of questions aimed at helping them understand the law and their responsibilities even better.

 The Minister said he was pleased with improved labour relations in the domestic sector where more than 700 000 domestic employers and some 663 000 workers have been registered with the department thus far.

 The Minister will on Friday this week take his Imbizo campaign to the Eastern Cape where the Mkhubiso Burnshill rural community in Keiskamahoek will enjoy the same government services brought right at their doorstep.

Labour Dept poised for hassle-free new financial year

The Department of Labour ends its financial year for 2008-09 at the end of next month looking forward to a challenging 2009-10. Following qualified audit reports for the 2007-08 financial year for both the Department and its two funds, the National Skills Fund and Compensation Fund, the Department spent time improving its systems to ensure better accountability for public funds.

 The Department will be implementing a new financial system (SAP) for the National Skills Fund (NSF) starting from April 2009. The system will allow the NSF to prepare its financial statements on an accrual basis, in line with the South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, a departure from the current cash or modified cash basis of preparation, which has earned the Fund audit qualifications in the last two financial years.

 The Department has also made substantial progress in resolving the accounting framework for the NSF, an issue that also led to a qualification. The Department took a decision to list the NSF as a public entity and is currently finalizing a business case to formalize the listing process. The accounting framework has also been addressed through the Skills Development Amendment Act. 

 At operational level the NSF has also resolved issues around procurement of service providers in one of its key training programmes, the Social Development Funding Window. Over the last two financial years the Auditor General has raised a qualification on this programme on the grounds that procurement of training providers was not in line with government supply chain policy. A new database of training providers has been finalized ensuring that future procurement will be in line with supply chain policy of government. Regrettably, as a result of this requirement, the Department has had to scale down on training for 2008-09 resulting in a lesser number of the unemployed people participating in skills development initiatives.

 Related to this was the advances paid to unemployed people for their meals and the R30 daily transport allowances while attending training. Due to limitations on current systems (mainly BAS), the Department was qualified for not being able to reconcile allocated advances in time for the thousands of trainees. This problem was also resolved paving a way for thousands unemployed people to continue benefiting from this grant whilst participating in various skills development initiatives.

 Commenting on the NSF’s prospect of acquiring a new system, Labour Spokesperson Page Boikanyo said today: “The system brings with it the long desired peace of mind where the Fund’s primary responsibility of providing skills development to unemployed would be discharged without any further hindrance. We also look forward to a clean Bill of health when the 2008/09 audits are conducted”.

KZN pair fined for assaulting labour inspector

The Labour Department has welcomed the sentencing of two men who last year attacked an inspector while he was conducting an inspection on a printing business owned by their father.

The duo sons of a Ladysmith printing business owner, have been fined R2 000 each or three months imprisonment suspended for five years by the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court.

This follows the September 22 incident when they physically attacked and abused the official whilst he was trying to discuss areas of labour law non-compliance that were detected at the workplace.

 He had suffered a cut on the face, a swollen lump on his head and cracks to the ribs, while his jacket and shirt were torn. A contravention notice was later served on the employer for the occupational health and safety violation.

A briefing session was also conducted at the workplace for both the employer and employees to raise awareness and the need for compliance regarding the basic conditions of employment.A follow-up inspection will soon be conducted at the company.

Expressing satisfaction at the sentencing of the pair, Labour Spokesperson Page Boikanyo said:, “The department welcomes this judgement which proves that no one is above the law.An inspector of the department has the power to visit any employer at any time to conduct inspections.Anyone who obstructs or hinders an inspector from performing this function, is breaking the law”.The inspector in question has since resumed work.

Prohibition remains as Labour Inspectors probe Epol fatality

The prohibition notice that the Labour Department issued against pet food producer Epol earlier this week remains in force as investigations into Monday’s gruesome death of an employee at the company’s Pretoria West plant are still underway.

The deceased worker was standing above a pit hole in the silo when a conveyor belt was started. He was subsequently conveyed into a pit, where he was covered by the raw product from the silos resulting in his untimely death.

Investigations by Labour inspectors are continuing in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and a report will be forwarded shortly to the Offices of the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department’s Chief Inspector Occupational Health and Safety for consideration.

Labour Spokesman Page Boikanyo today (Thur) confirmed that the prohibition notice remained in force at the plant.  He said the notice was forbidding entrance of any silo where the prescribed measures have not been complied with in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993, as amended..

Page Boikanyo

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