SA’s ‘fancy’ labour laws need to be enforced, says expert
The Department of Labour says it will continue its inspection blitz after the department found that 49% of the inspections were not complying with labour laws and regulations.
Labour lawyer and expert Micheal Bagraim says some employers are not complying with labour laws because of the strict labour legislation and that some of the labour legislation must be reviewed.
He says the department's site visits are good and that more visits are needed.
"It doesn't help to have fancy labour laws if you can't enforce them. The reality is we don't have enough inspectors. They are not properly capacitated and trained. Over and above all of this, they don't motor vehicles, laptops and all sorts of things."
READ: Labour department targets 'problematic' restaurants in four-day blitz
The inspection teams consisted of officials from the Employment and Labour Department, Home Affairs, the bargaining council, and the police, and they aimed to root out non-compliance with the country's labour and immigration laws.
According to the department, while 1,941 foreign nationals were found working at the more than 2,600 establishments visited, only 81 undocumented nationals were arrested during the four-day raids.
Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth said her department will introduce risk-based profiling to maximise the effectiveness of the inspections, which will allow officials to prioritise audits and inspections based on identified risks and to address high-priority non-compliance.
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