Employment and Labour Deputy Minister, Jomo Sibiya, said although the Department was making shockwaves in all sectors in ensuring compliance with labour laws, he warned that there were non-compliance patterns in problematic and high-risk sectors.

Sibiya said the Employment Laws continue to be flouted, especially the Occupational Health and Safety Act, Compensation for Injuries and Diseases Act, Unemployment Insurance Act, Basic Conditions of Employment Act, and the National Minimum Wage Act.

“We dare not bask in the glory of success for too long. The demand for our services is growing by the day. The celebration of our 30-year-old democracy is bittersweet. A great number of the working community is exposed to hazardous working conditions. In most instances, there is a total disregard for employment standards. There is a deficit in Decent Work. The cries of exploited workers have reached a crescendo.

“I will be failing in my duties if I do not ensure that our Department is as responsive to these cries as possible. It is for this reason that Project 20K is being implemented, which, potentially, would enhance the visibility of the inspectorate. This would be done through incrementally adding 20,000 intern inspectors during the MTSF period," Sibiya said.

The Deputy Minister was addressing a Department's Employment Standards Conference which brings together inspectors who enforce the employment standards in the disciplines of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), Employment Equity Act (EEA), and those who enforce Employer Audits in the form of Unemployment Insurance Contributions (Act), and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act (COIDA).

The conference is attended by 350 delegates, the majority of whom are inspectors. It is held at Olive Convention Centre under the theme: “Compliance leads to South Africa's Prosperity & Development".  

Sibiya said the conference presents delegates with a unique opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue, enter constructive debates, share knowledge, and exchange views to ensure that the Department's mandate is significantly enhanced.

Said Sibiya, the Employment Standards conference, which coincides with 31 years of SA's democracy, “we reflect on our journey over the past thirty-one years. The path has been fraught with challenges, yet our commitment to the workers of South Africa has never wavered. Government reiterates its pledge to continue the struggle for economic freedom, to ensure that every worker receives a living wage, and to fight for the rights of all South African workers, including the working poor, indigent, and unemployed". 

According to Sibiya the inspectorate has a duty to protect the gains of Government to advance Social Justice. He said inspectors have a critical role as the Department's foot soldiers in ensuring that employment and labour legislation is complied with; thereby contributing towards the transformation of the South African Labour Market.

Department of Employment and Labour Inspector-General, Aggy Moiloa, in her welcome address, warned that non-compliance carries a heavy price. Moiloa said inspectors were a last line of defence standing against defencelessness. Moiloa said non-compliance continues to fester and has been made to look acceptable.

Moiloa said today's gathering was a forum to provide a safe space for reshaping and refocusing strategies. She said the labour market was forever evolving, and cannot rely on yesterday's solution for today's problems.

For media enquiries, 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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