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Employers in the Sarah Baartman District are now on edge in anticipation of a visit by Employment and Labour inspectors accompanied by Departments of Home Affairs and Health, South African Police Services (SAPS) and the Sundays River Valley Local Municipality who have been in the area since 6th September 2021.

The joint inspections are planned for 06 – 17 September 2021. The first week saw a total of 166 inspections being conducted with seventy-nine (79) in the farm sector, thirty-three (33) in wholesale and retail sector, sixteen (16) in the hospitality sector and thirty-eight (38) in miscellaneous.

The inspections were conducted in the Addo and Kirkwood areas to ensure that employers in these sectors comply with legislation while employees get the protection of the law and being vaccinated at the place of work.

Five (05) compliance orders and one (01) written undertaking were served to non - compliant employers due to underpayment of their employees. A sum of R109 786.77 for underpayment of salaries of employees was recovered from employers who were not paying according to the prescribed rates.

The Acting Provincial Chief Inspector; Ms Patiswa Mbongwana, who is also coordinating this joint operation said that it is their collective objective to protect the vulnerable workers whilst assisting employers to comply with the law. 

The Department of Health also used the opportunity to conduct a COVID-19 education drive and vaccinated 158 workers in Sitrusoewer, Summerville and some of Farm Packhouses in Addo and Kirkwood.

The 71 alleged illegal immigrants who are Lesotho, Malawi and Zimbabwe nationals were detained and they appeared before court on Wednesday, 08th September 2021. All the females (03) who were detained got released because of their small children but warned to appear before court. Out of the 68 males, 2 were juveniles and 2 produced valid visas which left a total of 64 illegal immigrants detained pending deportation. One farmer paid an admission of guilt amounting to R5000 at Addo Police Station. 

Ms Nomfundo Douw-Jack who is the Head of the Department is encouraged by the high rate of compliance with labour legislation which stood at 96% in week 1 of the joint operation, however the continued scourge of employment of illegal immigrants remains a concern which does not only impact negatively on law enforcers but the unemployment rate. “Employees are encouraged to attend the information session as it will help them to understand their rights and responsibilities and be able to report employers who may be non-compliant”, she said. 

The operation continues this week and will end with an advocacy session meant to empower employees about Basic Conditions of Employment Act, National Minimum Wage Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, Immigration Act as well as information about Covid-19 and vaccination. 

The advocacy sessions will be held on Thursday, 16th September 2021 at Nomathamsanqa Hall in Addo and Mabhida Hall in Kirkwood both at 17h00 in the afternoon.

Issued by The Department of Employment and Labour