Pretoria – The Department of Labour has warned employers who fail to comply with Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) laws that they will face the full might of the law.
Speaking at the Inspectors’ Conference currently taking place in Cape Town, Explosives and Civil Engineering Director in the department, Tibor Szana, said the ultimate responsibility for OHS lies with the employer.
“No amount of inspection will make the place safer unless the employer comes to the party. Health and safety is a continuous activity, not an event. This is not rocket science and should be second nature to employers,” Szana said on Wednesday.
He said employers were expected to do an about turn on OHS, warning that employers who continued to do the same thing should not expect to get the same results from labour inspectors.
“Those employers who do not listen could soon find themselves on the rocks. We therefore urge employers to not play with workers’ lives.”
Deputy-Director General Public Employment Services, Sam Morotoba, said with the ever increasing influx of foreign nationals in the country, the scope of the inspectors was going to expand, with Home Affairs getting involved.
He also said fines that could be imposed by the Labour Court, include instances where the employer is:
- Requiring or permitting a foreign national to perform work for which such foreign national is not authorised to perform in terms of his or her work permit;
- Failing to display a certificate of registration in a conspicuous place on the premises of a private employment agency;
- Retaining a work seeker’s original identity card or qualifications;
- Charging a fee to any individual work-seeker for employment services, unless such is provided for by notice in the Gazette;
- Deducting any amount from an employee’s remuneration in respect of the placing of that employee in employment;
- Requiring or permitting an employee to pay any amount in respect of the placement of that employee; and
- Failing to keep up-to-date records.
Nkosinathi Nhleko, Director General of the department noted that the amendment to pieces of legislation such as Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act and the Employment Equity Act are also based on reflection into the practicality of implementation.
“As we reflect as social partners, we are able to identify areas of challenges in the implementation of the legislation and agree on the amendments which are required to be in place with a view to ease service delivery and compliance,” said Nhleko. – SAnews.gov.za
