Factory owner charged with forced labour, granted R20,000 bail
A businessman accused of locking workers in a factory in the Durban area of Glen Anil for six days forcing them to make facemasks, has been granted bail.
It's understood that 14 workers were forced to eat, sleep and manufacture the masks in one place to meet the demand brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
They were found on Saturday by inspectors from the Consumer Protection Unit, who were investigating complaints about Chinese company, Chen Lu.
Economic Development MEC, Nomusa Dube-Ncube says the workers were being kept in inhumane conditions.
READ: Workers found locked in Durban factory
She says police were called to arrest the owner of the factory and the workers were removed.
The NPA's, Natasha Kara says the accused appeared in court today and was charged with forced labour, failure to maintain a safe working environment as well as failing to lockdown a non-essential business.
The accused was granted a bail of R20,000 and will be back in court on the 20th of June.
Dube-Ncube confirmed the workers have been paid their salaries and are back in their homes.
