The Department of Employment and Labour wishes to inform the public, stakeholders, and members of the media that the Vereeniging Labour Centre has been temporarily closed, effective immediately. This development follows a progressive health and safety assessment by the Occupational Health and (OHS) inspectorate, which culminated in the issuance of a formal prohibition notice for the facility.

This closure comes exactly five days after the strategic operational pause enacted at our Soweto facility. Rather than viewing these consecutive notices as isolated setbacks, the Department is treating them as an aggregated mandate to aggressively enforce absolute compliance.

"We are taking immediate, decisive ownership of our infrastructure footprint," says Tshepo Mokomatsidi, Gauteng Chief Director Provincial Operations. "Following the measures implemented in Soweto, the evaluation of our Vereeniging office highlighted specific maintenance non-compliance issues that required us to act without delay. Our staff and the public deserve facilities that meet every standard of safety and human dignity, and we will not operate under a cloud of compromise."

A combined task team and contractors through Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has already been deployed to the Vereeniging site to initiate immediate corrective works on the infrastructure defects flagged by the inspectors. The facility will remain closed to the public until the inspectorate has re-examined the building, verified complete adherence to the OHS Act, and formally lifted the prohibition notice.

The Department unreservedly apologises for the cumulative inconvenience caused by these building closures. We remain consistently committed to the safety of our communities and will provide transparent progress updates as remediation benchmarks are achieved.

Mirroring the protocols established during the Soweto transition, Vereeniging officials will immediately adopt a hybrid working model. Staff will work remotely and link with operational sister branches to ensure back-office applications, claims processing, and general queries are managed seamlessly. Clients within the Vaal region who require urgent face-to-face assistance are advised to redirect to our closest operational service points.

For media inquiries, please contact: Teboho Thejane

Departmental Spokesperson

082 697 0694/ teboho.thejane@labour.gov.za

-ENDS-

Issued by: Department of Employment and Labour

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