Government has reaffirmed its commitment to building a fair, compliant and inclusive labour market with the launch of the country's first coordinated nationwide multidisciplinary high-impact labour and immigration blitz inspections.
The inspections are aimed at strengthening compliance with labour laws and protecting workers' rights.
The inspections, conducted simultaneously across all nine provinces on Friday, are led by the Department of Employment and Labour under the leadership of Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya, in partnership with the Department of Home Affairs under the leadership of Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza, supported by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other enforcement agencies.
The coordinated operation forms part of government's ongoing efforts to promote lawful employment practices, address workplace non-compliance and ensure employers comply with labour and immigration legislation.
Speaking during inspections in Tshwane, Sibiya described the operation as unprecedented.
“Just today, in all nine provinces as we speak, operations started at the same time. We are in all provinces. It's the first of its kind in the country. It's groundbreaking. We are going to continue doing it,” he said.
Sibiya said the inspections demonstrate government's intensified approach to law enforcement through closer collaboration between departments.
“We've been doing this work, but after President [Cyril Ramaphosa] announced that we need to heighten our law enforcement work, we have heightened it. We have ramped it up. Government is... working together,” Sibiya said.
He stressed that the operations were not a once-off intervention but would continue across the country.
“We are going to have these sweeping operations in every province. When you see us here, you must know that others are elsewhere. Our executive is with the inspectors and immigration officers in other provinces,” he said.
Responding to criticism that government is not doing enough to enforce labour and immigration laws, Sibiya said enforcement activities take place daily, although they are not always visible to the public.
“I want to tell South Africans... it's about doing our work every day. It's about enforcing the laws of the Republic every day. It's about making sure that South Africa is a country of laws (sic). It's a country where people will come and respect our laws."
Sibiya said that the inspections are intended to protect workers, while ensuring employers comply with the law.
“We want to clean the country. We want to have a safer country. We want people who are in South Africa to be legal in our country.”
Sibiya said government is equally focused on ensuring employers do not exploit undocumented foreign nationals.
“Another big thing is to make sure that employers are employing people who are supposed to be employed in South Africa. You can't just employ anybody who comes to South Africa without documents that allow him to work in our country. We must cut the demand [by dealing] with the employers because the demand comes from the employers,” the Deputy Minister said.
During Friday's operation, the Deputy Ministers visited Amka and Korteks Textiles Africa (Pty) Ltd in Tshwane.
At Korteks Textiles, inspectors uncovered several alleged violations of labour legislation, including workers reportedly earning below the national minimum wage, working excessive hours without overtime pay, not being registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) or Compensation Fund, and not receiving the required personal protective equipment.
The company's director was arrested for allegedly employing undocumented foreign nationals, while eight undocumented foreign nationals were also arrested during the operation.
Government said the nationwide multidisciplinary inspections will continue as part of efforts to strengthen compliance with labour, immigration and related legislation while building a fair, compliant and inclusive labour market that safeguards both workers and employers. – SAnews.gov.za
