Inspectors from the Department of Employment and Labour have prohibited learners at Saul Ridge High School in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, from using eight classrooms and toilets due to the facilities not complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The situation in the classrooms and toilets posed an immediate threat to the safety and health of the learners and teachers.
The inspectors found that live electrical wires in the mobile classrooms were hanging out and not covered, and the ceiling was on the brink of collapsing, which may cause severe head, brain and spinal cord injuries, and bone fractures. The inspectors also found bird droppings.
“To ensure the health and safety of learners and teachers, the inspectors had no choice but to prohibit those classrooms.
“No person may disregard the contents of such a notice and compliance must take place with immediate effect,” the Department of Employment and Labour said in a statement.
The school principal, on behalf of the Director General of Department of Education, was served with a notice preventing him and his employees from using those classrooms and toilets.
The notice will be revoked once the facilities comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, failing which, the matter will be handed to the Public Prosecutor for a decision.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act, 1993, requires the employer to bring about and maintain, as far as reasonably practicable, a work environment that is safe and without risk to the health of the workers.
Where this is not possible, the employer must inform workers of these dangers, how they may be prevented, how to work safely, and provide other protective measures for a safe workplace.
A follow-up inspection will be conducted to check if the school complied with the prohibition notice that has been issued. – SAnews.gov.za
