Department says most KZN farmers fully Law Compliant

Statistics released today by Labour inspectors as they rounded-up a  week-long raid of KwaZulu-Natal farms suggest a whopping 237 (82 percent) of the 290 them fully comply with labour laws, whilst only 53 (18 percent) were still contravening sections of the law.

The inspection which started last Monday (July, 28) saw inspectors praise most farms for adherence with legislation and also for co-operation received from farmers during inspections. A total of 42 contravention notices were served to those farmers who had violated different aspects of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.These included no risk assessments being conducted, no health and safety reps or committees being appointed, no first aider on duty, no electrical installation certificate being available, no protective wear being provided for workers, no toilet facilities or toilet paper available, no incident registers kept and no fire extinguishers available or if available, not properly serviced.These employers were given 60 days to comply or face more stringent enforcement measures.

A total of 19 written undertakings were also secured for other violations that included incorrect payment of over-time wages and non compliance with different sections of the Employment Equity Act like no consultation with workers being carried out, no EE plan in place and no proof of annual reports submitted to the department.The inspection campaign was aimed at improving compliance in industries with high incident rates as well as the sectoral determination that regulates the basic conditions of employment for the sector.It also forms part of the department’s national drive to enhance the visibility of it’s inspectorate in the most remote and rural communities of the country.