Assessment Puts Farming Sector On Spotlight

Results of last week’s nationwide inspections of the farming sector suggest a continuing disregard of labour laws despite the rising improvement that inspectors recorded.

A total 336 of the 763 workplaces visited in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape were caught flouting various aspects of occupational health and safety regulations.

The five-day blitzkrieg of the agriculture and forestry sectors saw Labour Inspectors issuing countless contravention notices ranging from unsafe working conditions to default on stipulated basic remuneration.

The Eastern and Western Cape provinces recorded the worst, with each managing only 18 compliant employers out of 74 and 69 respectively.

In Limpopo, a total 247 were scrutinized, with most of the 140 flouters failing to produce written employment documents of their workers, including wage slips and Unemployment Insurance Fund particulars.

One workplace had to be shut down immediately when inspectors found welders operating inside a storeroom stacked with inflammable liquid.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded the biggest improvement from previous inspections, with 287 of the 373 visited employers fully complying with the legislation.

The inspections formed part of the government’s ongoing campaign targeting all sectors for workplace safety and sound working conditions.

 Defaulters were issued written notices to get their places in order or face prosecution.