Workers vent their anger

About 30 protesting workers employed by a chemical waste disposal factory in Wadeville have accused their bosses of endangering their lives by exposing them to deadly, hazardous chemicals without providing the workers with protective clothing.

However, when called by Kathorus MAIL and asked to respond to the serious allegations levelled against Clinix Waste Management, the company’s head of HR, George Kemp, dismissed the allegations. He said they were a “concocted pack of lies by disgruntled former employees who were grasping at straws to tarnish the image of his company”.

At the time of going to press, Kemp, in response to a question posed to him by Kathorus MAIL, confirmed that most of the “protesting” employees had already been “fired for taking part in an unprotected strike”. The HR head also admitted that not all of the employees had been served with their “hearing” notices nor issued with their hearing dates as required by the labour law.

Instead, Kemp lashed out at the striking workers by questioning the validity of the claims. “How come most of them have worked for the company for years without going to the media to expose what they claim are some of the bad and illegal things they accuse us of doing here?” said a calm Kemp. He said the allegations were merely meant to taint the company and bring its name into disrepute.

But an angry Jones Mokoena, a union shop steward spokesperson for the protesting workers, led Kathorus MAIL through a footpath that winds towards a stream behind the secluded factory. “This is where they dump medical waste when they are unable to incinerate it in their huge ovens,” said Mokoena. He added that he had been personally responsible for disposing hazardous chemicals from the factory into the stream that flows through the nearby township of Katlehong.

Another protesting employee of the company and a workers’ representative, Shadrico Bronkhorst, added to the allegations made by Mokoena and his fellow co-workers. “The reason we are out in the streets right now is because we have decided to put an end to the abuses we’ve been exposed to by this company as its employees,” Bronkhorst said.

Urged to speak out by a group of protesting fellow employees carrying placards and shouting out their grievances against the company, Bronkhorst, listed the following:

· The ill-treatment of workers by management

· Lack of employment contracts for employees

· Lack of job security and benefits

· Unacceptable, dangerous working conditions

· Exposure to dangerous and hazardous chemicals

· Lack of safety work-gear for employees

· Serious violation of HR and Labour issues by the company.

A few of the protesting workers claimed they knew of a few former employees who had been dismissed after they contracted unexplained disease or illness. “They were accused of faking illness and dismissed for being frequently absent from work due to their chronic ill health,” explained Mokoena. H added that he was one of the employees who almost lost his life after he was exposed to hazardous chemicals.

Mokoena described the types of dangerous chemicals handled by the company on a daily basis as “large quantities” that often “overwhelm” the facility. He described the company’s efforts to deal with the amount of hazardous waste at the facility as their main cause of their problems.

“There are not enough workers employed by the company to deal with the amount of waste that comes through this facility on a daily basis. And when the staff complain about the workload, we are threatened with dismissal and subjected to ill treatment by management,” revealed Mokoena.