Paarl Print incident probe ends

Public enquiry into the fire incident which broke out at Paarl Print on 17 April 2009 where 13 employees were fatally killed and others injured came to an end today, Tuesday 15 June.

Outlining the process to follow after this, Western Cape Provincial Executive Manager, Teboho Thejane said “Transcripts will be made available to all representatives involved at the end of this month and representatives have until end of July to submit their heads of arguments to the chairperson of the enquiry.”

The chairperson will study these arguments and submit a report to the Chief Inspector for his determination in October this year, the Chief Inspector will then make a recommendation to the National Director of Public Prosecutions for prosecution of any party found liable, Thejane added.

Thejane also emphasized that the department of labour wants to appeal to all employers to ensure that worker safety takes precedence over profits.

This enquiry took over a month, gathering evidence to determine whether sufficient fire safety precautionary measures were in place to prevent the fire from killing and injuring these workers.

These public hearings are held in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1993.

 Enquiries: Temba Gubula (Labour Western Cape Spokesperson)

                078 735 8809

                Page Boikanyo (Labour Spokesperson)

                082 809 3195