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 deaths of 26 employees in Hectorspruit, Mpumalanga following a crash between a goods train and a lorry transporting workers was a horrific and tragic accident. The fact that the employer does not have records of these workers is compounding the problem – and the lack of these details is a contravention of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA).

The Act stipulates that employers need to have details of their employees including details of their next of kin.

“We have been informed by the inspectors that the owner of the farm claims the employees were not his and he had procured their services from a contractor who supplied the labour.

“Clearly this is an untenable position and in contravention of the BCEA which states that the employer should have all the details of people working in their premises. At this stage we are also checking whether declaration for Unemployment Insurance was done or not,” she said.

Such an incident is the basic reason why the Ministry of Labour is refining the
Labour Relations Act (LRA) to take care of incidents such as these.

The department sent an inspector to the scene to ensure that all the necessary compliance prescripts were adhered to. One of those is that an accident at the workplace has to be reported to the Compensation Commission as prescribed in the Compensation for Injuries and Diseases Act.

“The department has been on the forefront of checking for compliance with farmers and it is clear that there is still widespread non-compliance with the various prescripts of labour legislation.

“Our inspectors are still investigating the cause of the incident in order to prevent recurrence of similar incident. Our inspectors will be working closely with the Railway Safety Regulator inspector to establish the cause of the incident as the incident involved a goods trains. In the event that we find that non-compliance had anything to do with the deaths, we will let the law take its course.

“This is a notice to all other employers and train operators that failure to comply with the laws of our country is a criminal offence which is punishable. Unfortunately, it is too late for those workers in Mpumalanga but employers and train operators need to bring themselves to speed with what they are required to do. They need to be good corporate citizen who have the interest of workers at heart.

“Our inspectors are more than willing to go out and counsel employers and train operators on steps they need to take to ensure that they are fully-compliant,” said Minister Oliphant.