MINISTER MDLADLANA LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION TO IMPROVE THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, 20 January 2004

Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana will instruct the Director-General of the Department to launch an investigation into the construction sector as the first step in promulgating a sectoral determination that will set employment standards and minimum wages in the sector or areas where there are no bargaining councils. The Minister was speaking after visiting the Crown Mine's site where three workers were killed and another two injured when building work collapsed on them on Sunday (January 18, 2003).The Minister who was accompanied by Cosatu Secretary-General Zwelinzima Vavi and SACP Secretary-General Blade Nzimande said he was appalled by the living and working conditions to which the workers were exposed to on site.  "The employer, Rodacil, cares so little for the workers that they were unable to properly identify the deceased. The two workers who were injured and discharged from hospital yesterday were forced to live in a cold shelter with no facilities. Workers are only paid R160 which is much lower than what other workers are being paid," the Minister said. After discussions with the Minister, the Rodacil owner agreed to pay to transport the injured workers to their homes and grant them full-paid sick leave. "Employers have to ensure that workers are protected and work in a safe environment. Employer's cost-cutting exercises should not result in increasing the dangers faced by staff," the Minister said. The Department's Investigation Team who was immediately dispatched to the scene slapped a prohibition order on Rodacil Construction on Sunday, halting all work activities on the construction site pending investigations. Preliminary findings by the Department of Labour inspectors are that:
a. Rodacil had subcontracted work to two subcontractors who are not registered companies; therefore workers were not registered with Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Fund.
b. The company did not comply with construction regulations as no protective equipment and clothing were provided to workers.
c. There was no proper supervision of workers on site. Click here for more.
 

"I am angry and sad that employers do not take Occupational Health and Safety issues seriously. How do you allow workers to work without supervision and no protective clothing? Employers must value workers lives and ensure that they work under a sate health and safe environment. Safety for workers remains top priority for the ANC government in 2004 and the Department will continue to conduct inspections to ensure workers are safe at their places of work. "Let it be known that those employers bent on flaunting our labour regulations and deliberately failing to comply with safety regulations will not escape the course of this country's law", Minister Mdladlana said. "The construction sector has been a thorn on the side of the Department of Labour and we have since made a commitment as government to continue targeting this industry until they start prioritising workplace safety", he said. Figures compiled by the Compensation Fund indicate that an estimated 25 700 accidents were reported in the sector during the 2002 - 2003 financial year, which works out to more than 70 accidents per day. These records also indicate that at least 150 workers were killed during the financial year solely as a result of workplace accidents in the sector. "Aside from the obvious moral implications, the costs of this to the overall economy are enormous, and needs to take into account issues like disruption to production, loss of trained personnel. "Just part of these costs includes almost R204-million Compensation Fund paid out during the year as a result in of injuries in the sector. "The Unemployment Insurance Fund also paid out a total of R2 335 527 in death and sickness benefits to workers in the sector from 2001 to 2003," the Minister said. The Minister added that the outcome of national inspections conducted during the week of October 27, 2003, were of grave concern. "During the inspections 747 sites were visited and only 37, that is less than half a percent of the sites - were completely compliant. Inspectors also issued 175 prohibition notices during the week," the Minister said. The Minister added that contraventions take place no matter what the size of the site. For example, at the end of last year Department Inspectors inspected 11 domestic building sites at the Mosselbay Golf Estate and Penzula Estate in the Western Cape and unearthed an array of gross violations of the Act, resulting in two prohibition orders being issued.

LABOUR INSPECTORS PROHIBITS RODACIL CONSTRUCTION TO CARRY ON WITH ITS WORK FOLLOWING ACCIDENT. Labour investigates Mayfair construction site accident. 19 January 2004.

Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana, has issued a stern warning to the construction sector following the death of three workers in an accident at a construction site near Mayfair, west of Johannesburg, early Sunday. Two other workers were also injured when a wall they were busy working on gave in and collapsed. Minister Mdladlana sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and further called for a speedy investigation into the accident. The Department Investigation Team that were immediately dispatched to the scene slapped a prohibition order on the employer - Rodacil Construction - halting all work activities on the construction site pending investigations. The police forensic team has also been roped into the investigations to determine if the incident constitutes a case of foul play. Meanwhile, department inspectors will tomorrow interview the employer, the supervisor and any other witnesses. Part of the investigation will include a probe into the nature of the construction business that the employer was licensed for and whether relevant safety measures were in place during the accident. The inspectors will also study documentation to establish whether the affected workers were employed legally in South Africa and to also see if the employer was registered with the Compensation Fund and the Unemployed Insurance Fund. The Minister sent a stern warning to employers who deliberately disregard workers safety. "This year our labour inspectors will continue to ensure that employers in the construction industry comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the construction regulations. It is unacceptable that between 2001 and 2002 alone a total of 150 workers were killed while on duty in the construction industry while a further 70 workers are injured on a daily basis within the sector," said Minister Mdladlana.  "My department is determined to once again go out in full force in 2004 to ensure compliance with occupational health and safety regulations in workplaces around the country. "We will continue with our campaign to stamp out defaulters until such time that safety is a priority for every employer and workers can work under safe environment," the Minister said.

MINISTER MDLADLANA TO INSPECT CROWN MINES CONSTRUCTION ACCIDENT SCENE. DoL media statement of 20 January 2004.

The Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, is inviting the media to join him and the Department's Inspectors at 12 pm today on a site visit to the scene of last Sunday's construction accident in Crown Mines, west of Johannesburg, where three workers were killed and two were injured in an accident. Minister Mdladlana will be accompanied by Cosatu Secretary-General, Zwelinzima Vavi, and SACP Secretary-General, Blade Nzimandel. The site visit will culminate in safety inspections at construction site in Sandton with special emphasis on enforcement of the Occupational Health and Safety Act within the industry. These campaigns are a follow-up to a successful series of blitz inspections that took place between September 2003 and the early part of 2004 and forms part of the Department's ongoing campaign to ensure Occupational and Health Safety Act within the construction industry.

MINISTER MDLADLANA CONDEMNS ROCKLANDS ACCIDENT THAT CAUSED A WORKER'S DEATH. DoL media statement of 13 January 2004.

The Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, has reiterated the department's commitment to providing all South Africans with a safe working environment after Eastern Cape labour inspectors issued a prohibition notice following the death of a worker on Friday night. Department of Labour inspectors have issued a prohibition notice to a Uitenhage employer - Rocklands Poultry - after a worker was decapitated when he was dragged into the wheels driving a conveyor belt. The prohibition notice prevents further operation of the machinery and the inspectors also instructed the employer to install an emergency stop device. "The Department of Labour will not stand by while workers are injured or killed at work. In this case, like others, the incident will be thoroughly investigated and appropriate action taken," Ministers Mdladlana said. "While it is the employer's duty to provide a healthy, safe environment, it also makes business sense for work not to be disrupted by accidents and incidents," the Minister added. The Minister emphasised that it is the right of every worker to refuse to work in an unsafe environment and called on workers to report contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to the department.

DoL Media Alert of 13 January 2004.

Following complaints from workers in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and on the North Coast, the Department of Labour will conduct a series of blitz inspections on employers in the Richmond and Gigindlovu areas of the province. The inspections, which will be led by the Deputy Director-General of Service Delivery, Dr Van Mkosana, will focus on adherence to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Employment Equity Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The employers to be visited are in the large-scale agricultural sector. All media wishing to accompany inspectors are welcome.

Klass Looch Associates maintains that employers may refuse entry to the media!

OHS Act General Administrative Regulation 2. Access to premises.

DoL investigates death at manufacturing company. Media statement of 13 January 2004. The Department of Labour inspectors are investigating a case of negligence following the death of an employee at a manufacturing company in Isipingo south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal last Friday. The 21 year-old worker was retrieving residue plastic from behind a heavy-duty cutting machine when his hand got stuck and the machine cover crashed onto his chest. The machine is used to cut hard-file plastic covers used in footwear manufacturing. The inspectors have issued the employer - Palm Technique - with a prohibition order that effectively halts all operations within the company's division pending investigations. Labour inspectors are continuing with investigations into the cause of the accident and to establish whether the incident was the result of negligence. Minister of Labour, Membathisi Mdladlana, expressed concern at what seems to be a growing trend of occupational accidents and lack of safety in workplaces. Minister Mdladlana has emphasised that safety for workers and the general public remains a priority for the African National Congress government in the new year and the department will continue to conduct inspections to ensure compliance at all times. "We will not rest until we know for sure that businesses and organisations respect the Occupational Health and Safety Act and regulations and anybody who fails to comply will not escape the course of the law," Minister Mdladlana said.

KZN farms in trouble on conditions test. Natal Mercury of 15 January 2004. 'Labour Dept finds farms have not complied with health and safety regulations. Labour Department inspectors on Wednesday slapped several KwaZulu-Natal farmers with contravention notices and written undertakings after workers complained about their employers' non-compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Employment Equity Act and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations. Service delivery deputy director-general Vanguard Mkosana led a team of inspectors to the Richmond Tea Estates in the midlands, and to three farms in Gingindlovu on the north coast. Eight contravention notices and two written undertakings were served on the Richmond Tea Estate for failing to comply with the labour laws, by failing to appoint health and safety representatives as specified by the OHS Act. It was also found that workers are exposed to unacceptable levels of heat, noise and dust. The incorrect use of dangerous chemicals at the tea estate was also found to be a health hazard. Also, workers are not issued with the necessary protective equipment. The department said because of the strain the body is subjected to during night-shift work, medical examinations should have been provided for workers, but the employer failed to make provision for this. Inspectors said workers were also forced to work overtime without pay, were not granted necessary meal intervals, and sick leave was unpaid. "No employment equity records had been captured by this employer." Three contravention notices were also served at Gingindlovu's Vulumlomo farm as a result of contraventions relating to non-adherence to safety, administrative, and machinery regulations. Inspectors also found that the employer did not comply with the required minimum wage regulations and made unlawful deductions from workers' wages. One contravention notice and an undertaking were served at Tamarin farm in Gingindlovu for failure to comply with safety regulations and minimum wages. Similar notices were issued to the Nelltop farm in the same area. "The Department of Labour is committed to the protection of all workers including the most vulnerable such as those on farms. These inspections are part and parcel of that commitment and a clear indication that we will not tolerate contraventions of labour legislations, there is no place for employers to hide from us," Mkosana

Mdladlana orders investigation into cableway accident at Hartbeespoort Dam.

LABOUR MINISTER INSTRUCTS INSPECTORS TO GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT AT HARTBEESPOORT DAM. DoL 3 January 2004.

The Department of Labour Minister, Membathisi Mdladlana, has condemned yesterday's accident near Hartbeespoort Dam in the North West in which two people were seriously injured when a cableway carrying at least 40 people snapped in midair and plunged to the ground. Minister Mdladlana has requested inspectors to conduct a full investigation to establish the cause of the accident. The cableway is operated by Hartbeespoort Kabospoor Company to transport members of the public to picnic spots across the Hartbeespoort Dam up to the nearby mountains. Health and Safety Inspectors arrived at the scene soon after the incident yesterday afternoon and immediately issued a prohibition notice halting all operations while investigations are been conducted. The two injured where airlifted to the Unitas Hospital in Centurion, Pretoria, and are in a stable condition. The department has already inspected the company's weekly records and will on Monday continue with the investigations including interviewing witnesses. "We are extremely lucky that only two people were injured when the cableway that was carrying 40 people snapped. We as the African National Congress government will not tolerate companies that put profit before people's safety," said Minister Mdladlana. "The department inspectors will ensure that - in the event that there is any proof of negligence - those responsible are brought to book," he added'.

Police to help cable car probe. News24 of 5 January 2004. 'Police forensics experts will help in the probe into a cable-car crash that injured two people at Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria, the labour department said on Monday'.

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