Burglary halts service at Johannesburg Labour Department Offices

The Ministry of Labour wishes to condemn in the strongest terms the burglary and theft of last night (November 29) of equipment, including computers, printers and fax machines from our central Johannesburg offices.

As a result of the break-in, services of the inspectorate, supply chain and office services are among those temporarily disrupted and expected to return to normality soon.

Our offices are there to serve the public, most notably the vulnerable workers who can only access their claims such as from the Compensation Fund, the Unemployment Insurance Fund or report ill-treatment by employers. In short, the offices are there to protect the rights of everyone as enshrined in the country?s Constitution.

It is under these circumstances that we find the burglary as aimed not only at the Department but an attack against the South African taxpayer.

We appeal to members of the public not to buy stolen property and to report to the nearest police anyone who can be found trying to sell this equipment.

The incident has been reported to the police and investigations are underway.