https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / Statements RSS ← Back
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Embed Video

NUM: Statement by the National Union of Mineworkers, gravely concerned about accidents in the construction industry (20/11/2013)

20th November 2013

SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) strongly condemns the deaths of two workers and the trapping of up to 50 more under rubble when a building collapsed in oThongathi, North of Durban in Kwazulu Natal Province.
 
The National Union of Mineworkers wish to pass its heartfelt sympathy to the families of the deceased and those who were trapped in the rubble from the collapsed building at oThongathi.
 
The National Union of Mineworkers is gravely concerned about the accidents in the Construction industry and the lack of intervention from the government authorities like the Inspectorate from the Department of Labour.

As the NUM we have always emphasized the need of the Department of Labour to reinforce its health and safety inspectorate in the Construction and Energy Sector.
 
Construction workers are of the belief that there is collaboration between the inspectors and the employers to hide the occurrence of accidents in the industry and what happened in oThongathi is just a tip of the iceberg.
 
This accident happened immediately when we are still mourning the fatal accidents at Ingula Power Station where 6 workers died, the same thing happened at Richards Bay Minerals where a worker died while we were preparing the memorial service at Ingula Power Station.
 
We therefore demand a transparent investigation to this accident and proper corrective action taken against the employer. The employer must answer to all allegations that they proceeded to build without approved plans, they must also answer as to why they defied the court order as alleged by the eThekwini Municipality. It is also alleged that majority employees are foreign workers who are not registered with the Department of Labour and therefore makes it difficult to get an accurate count of the casualties. The investigation must look at this allegation and at what extent this is happening in the construction industry.
 
We also demand that the directors of this company be arrested immediately if the allegation of defying the court order is proven and they must be responsible for all the cost emanating from this accident.
 

Advertisement

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

 

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now